An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday decided to fast-track proceedings in three high-profile cases linked to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) November 26, 2024 protest at D-Chowk, Islamabad.
The cases, registered at Naseerabad, Wah Cantt and Sadiqabad police stations, will now be heard on an urgent basis. To facilitate this, the court cancelled the summer vacation of ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who returned early from his leave to resume duties.
On Wednesday, Judge Shah accepted a request from the public prosecutor for early hearings and issued notices to all accused, including PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and his sister Aleema Khan.
In a major development, the court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former president Dr Arif Alvi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid and MNA Shahid Khattak, directing authorities to present them in court on July 25.
The court further instructed that charge sheets (challans) against the accused be submitted without delay. Other senior PTI leaders, including Omar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Shahryar Riaz and Hammad Azhar, are also named in the cases.
Verdict delayed
In a related development, the lower court of Islamabad on Wednesday postponed its decision in two cases filed under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, linked to the PTI protest on November 26.
Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shehzad Gondal was scheduled to announce the reserved verdict on Wednesday, but the decision could not be delivered due to incomplete documentation.
The court had reserved its judgment on July 18 after final arguments were completed in both cases. These cases were registered at Ramna Police Station under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order (PAPO) Act.
The two cases involve charges related to PTI's protest held in Islamabad on November 26. The verdicts in both cases were ready to be delivered but could not be finalised in writing, prompting the delay.
Legal representatives of the accused and the prosecution had concluded their arguments in the previous hearing, after which the court had reserved its decision.
Meanwhile, an ATC ordered the distribution of challan copies to the accused present in protest-related cases filed against the PTI founder, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and others. Judge Tahir Abbas Sapra presided over the proceedings.
During the hearing, the court summoned the accused, who appeared and were provided with copies of the challans. The judge also issued arrest warrants for those who failed to appear and remarked that the accused will be indicted at the next hearing.
The court adjourned both cases till July 30. The cases were registered at Khanna police station and named Qureshi and others as accused.
In a separate case pertaining to the arrest of PTI leaders and workers during the October 4 crackdown, the same ATC summoned the absentees to appear at the next hearing.
Judge Sapra was again presiding. During the proceedings, lawyers Sardar Muhammad Masroof Khan Advocate, Zahid Bashir Dar and others appeared on behalf of PTI workers.
Azam Swati submitted a petition seeking exemption from attendance, while Omar Ayub was issued a notice to be re-summoned for failing to appear.
The court directed that all remaining accused must also appear at the next hearing, which was adjourned till Thursday.
In response, the defence counsel informed the court that the PTI workers hail from far-flung areas like Kashmir and Mardan and were unable to arrange for overnight accommodation in Islamabad.
"This is the party's problem," the judge remarked. "They should make arrangements for their stay."
The hearing was subsequently adjourned until Thursday.
The latest developments come a day after multiple PTI leaders were sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment by two anti-terrorism courts in Lahore and Sargodha for their alleged roles in the violent events of May 9, 2023.
In Lahore, ATC Judge Arshad Javed announced the verdict late Monday night, around 9:30pm, at Kot Lakhpat Jail. The hearing was held inside the prison due to security concerns and involved PTI leaders implicated in the Sherpao Bridge violence case.
The court awarded 10-year sentences to senior PTI figures including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, and former provincial minister Mian Mehmoodur Rashid.
Alongside the party leadership, four other individuals – Afzaal Azeem Pahat, Ali Hassan, Khalid Qayum, and Riaz Hussain – were also convicted and handed the same sentence.
However, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was acquitted, marking the first acquittal in any May 9-related case in Lahore. The judge also acquitted five other PTI activists – Hamza Azeem, Aitzaz Rafiq, Rana Tanvir, Iftikhar Ahmad and Zayas Khan – after Qureshi's defence successfully established that he was in Karachi on the day of the incident.
A total of 14 individuals were indicted in the case, with the prosecution submitting its challan (charge-sheet) on September 28, 2023. During final arguments, prosecutors claimed that the May 9 conspiracy was devised on May 7 at Imran Khan's residence in Zaman Park.
Meanwhile, in a separate case in Sargodha, ATC Judge Naeem Sheikh sentenced 32 PTI members, including Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bhachar, to 10 years in prison each. The case was registered at the Musakhel police station in connection with the same day's violence.
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