Rawalpindi's Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Syed Amjad Ali Shah has postponed hearings in all 13 cases related to the May 9 incidents, including the GHQ attack case, until May 17 in view of tensions between Pakistan and India.
In a related development, he granted interim bail to former prime minister Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan in a case registered at Sadiqabad police station concerning the November 26 protests.
Aleema appeared in court, surrendered herself, and stated she had no prior knowledge of the case. The court barred police from arresting her and instructed her to cooperate with the investigators.
The GHQ attack case, scheduled for a jail trial on Saturday, did not proceed, and no witnesses appeared despite being summoned. The case has faced repeated delays since February 25.
A total of 14 FIRs were registered by various police stations in the division concerning the May 9 events, but charge sheets were only submitted after one and a half years.
To date, even the charge sheet for the General Headquarters (GHQ) attack case remains incomplete. Trials have commenced based on incomplete charge sheets. So far, 73 hearings have taken place, 3 judges have been replaced at the ATC, and jail trials have been held 15 times.
In the case filed at Railway Police Station concerning the attack and vandalism at Tarnol Railway Station, 20 PTI workers have been convicted after pleading guilty. They received six-month jail terms and fines of Rs75,000 each.
The process of distributing charge sheets continues in 12 other cases. A formal jail trial is only ongoing in the GHQ attack case, where statements of 25 out of 119 witnesses have been recorded.
However, the defense has not yet cross-examined any witnesses. Two key witnesses in this caseMagistrate Mujtaba Al-Hasan and Sub-Inspector Riazhave not appeared for the past three months. Since February 25, the GHQ case trial has been at a standstill.
Eight suspects in the GHQ Gate 1 attack, Metro Bus Station arson, and attack on an intelligence agency's office have already been tried in military courts. Of these, six were sentenced to two, eight, and ten years in prison, while two were released after serving one year each.
The convictions have been challenged in the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), but these constitutional petitions have not yet been scheduled for hearing.
The Supreme Court has ordered all the ATCs hearing May 9 cases to conclude the trial in 4 months.
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