ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday indicted ex-prime minister Imran Khan along with over 100 other leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for allegedly inciting their supporters to attack the general headquarters (GHQ) and its installations in May 2023.
The jailed PTI founding party chairman and other leaders of his party pleaded not guilty to the charges as the court also indicted more than 100 others in May 09 mayhem case.
The ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah conducted a hearing for the GHQ attack case at a makeshift court established inside Rawalpindi’s notorious Adiala Jail.
Over 100 individuals, including Sheikh Rasheed, Omar Ayub, Sheikh Rashid Shafique, Raja Basharat, and Zartaj Gul, were also indicted in the case.
Basharat walked out of the jail during the hearing, after which, he was arrested outside Adiala Jail. The police also arrested the opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub and PTI MNA Ahmad Chatta.
There are over 143 accused in the GHQ attack case registered at RA Bazar police station including the jailed founding PTI chairman Imran Khan. The court had already declared 23 accused, including Shahbaz Gill and Zulfi Bukhari, absconders. Ten people were convicted for their role in the riots by an Islamabad anti-terrorism court on November 23.
At the onset of the hearing, the anti-terrorism court in Adiala Jail indicted 100 accused present in court on charges of sedition, terrorism, attempted murder, sabotage, arson, encirclement and criminal conspiracy.
Zaheer Shah, the special public prosecutor contended that exerting pressure on the government through violent protests falls under the category of terrorism, adding the attack on GHQ was executed with the purpose of provoking a rebellion within the Pakistan army.
The attack was meticulously orchestrated in a manner of terrorist organisations to fulfill political objectives, Shah remarked, indicating that the targets had been selected prior to May 9, 2023, as the attack on GHQ received extensive coverage in international media, particularly, highlighted by Indian media outlets.
He subsequently presented a July 2023 report released by Punjab Home Department as a reference, which detailed the extent of the destruction caused by the riots, adding a total of 102 vehicles were damaged and organised attacks were carried out on 26 buildings.
“The report assessed the total damages to be valued at Rs1.67 billion,” he added.
The events of May 9 constituted a direct assault on the nation’s internal security and the stability of the state, he contended, further asserting that these incidents represented not merely acts of terrorism but rather an attempt to wage a war against the state of Pakistan.
The hearing was adjourned till December 10.
In a post on X, the PTI condemned the arrests, and indictment of party founding chairman and other leaders, saying the state’s approach “exposes the reality of an undeclared martial law in Pakistan”.
“Such acts reflect desperation, not strength,” it added.
A number of PTI leaders prominently Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul Wazir, Sheikh Rashid Shafique, Sadaqat Abbasi, MusarratJamshed Cheema, Waseem Qayum Abbasi, Javed Kausar, Sajid Qureshi, Mohammad Ahmed Chatha and Usman Dar among others, attended the hearing held at Adiala Jail.
The court had summoned all the accused in the GHQ attack case with formal charges anticipated to be filed against 120 persons including Imran Khan.
Furthermore, the court had also directed ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is currently held at Lahore Jail. Additionally, the court has directed that arrests be made for several PTI leaders including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, ShibliFaraz, ShireenMazari, Zartaj Gul, Zain Qureshi and Tayaba Raja.
Besides, arrest warrants were issued for 45 absconding accused, with the court cautioning that legal actions will commence to officially designate them as fugitives if they failed to appear before it.
Earlier this year, Imran Khan was arrested in connection with GHQ attack case, shortly after the issuance of a release in cypher case.
The report concerning the GHQ attack details 27 serious allegations against Imran Khan and other defendants. It says that under the direction of former provincial law minister Raja Basharat, the accused breached the GHQ gate, resulting in considerable property damage despite being warned by military officials to stop.
It says that the accused also alleged to have unlawfully entered restricted areas of GHS, set fires, threw petrol bombs and created chaos within the facility, adding slogans including “No Pakistan without Khan” and “Behind this terrorism, there is [the men] in uniform” were reportedly raised, targeting the military and undermining the reputation of armed forces.
The investigation report indicates that attacks were directed at sensitive Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and GHQ offices, categorizing the protest as a criminal conspiracy.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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