ATC irked by incomplete challans in May 9 cases

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Amjad Ali Shah expressed dissatisfaction over the incomplete submission of challans in the May 9 cases and adjourned the hearings until March 15.

The judge directed investigation officers (IOs) to ensure complete challans and copies matching the number of accused are submitted before the next hearing. Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Rashid Shafiq, and former provincial minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, who recently parted ways with PTI, attended the session, while some accused individuals submitted exemption requests for absence.

The court also summoned PTI's founding chairman with a jail production order. Expressing concern over the repeated delays in the May 9 cases, the court noted that hearings have been adjourned for weeks without progress. Among the 13 cases related to the incident are the GHQ Gate 4 attack, the burning of the Metro Bus Station, the arson of a sensitive building in Saddar Cantt, and the demolition of the Military Library Museum.

The distribution of challan copies to 429 accused individuals remained incomplete. The court reprimanded IOs from all police stations for failing to submit the required documents and ordered them to ensure compliance by the next hearing.