ATC discharges 102 PTI workers in Nov 26 protest case

An Anti-Terrorism Court has discharged 102 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers from a case related to the November 26 protests, ordering the police not to re-arrest them.

According to the Express News, the court released 57 of the detained PTI workers, who were promptly sent home from the Judicial Complex.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Company Police presented 95 detained suspects in two separate cases before Judge Tahir Abbas. The court discharged nine suspects and approved a two-day physical remand for three others.

In another case registered at Karachi Company Police Station, the court discharged eight more suspects and granted a three-day physical remand for 75 others, including four minors. These suspects were handed over to the police.

The defence lawyer, Ansar Kayani, informed the court that four of the remanded suspects were minors and requested their discharge. In response, the court instructed the police to provide immediate details regarding the minors.

Judge Abbas also ordered the police to immediately provide information about the minors among the 75 remanded suspects. 

Additionally, the Kohsar Police Station presented 33 suspects before the court with 24 of them being discharged. The judge directed the police to remove the handcuffs of the discharged suspects in the courtroom and stated that they should not be re-arrested.

The court also granted physical remand for nine other suspects and instructed the police to refrain from re-arresting any of the discharged individuals. Kayani had raised concerns about the possibility of re-arrest, to which the judge sternly directed the police not to detain the discharged suspects again.