ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, along with 25 other leaders and activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a case involving attack on general headquarters (GHQ).
The ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah in Rawalpindi, which heard the case pertaining to alleged attack on the heavily guarded GHQ of Pakistan Army, last year in May, also directed the city police officer (CCPO) Rawalpindi, to present all the suspects along with Gandapur, who is the sitting chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, before the court on December 10.
In addition to Gandapur, other prominent PTI leaders among the 25 suspects with non-bailable arrest warrants include Shibli Faraz, the opposition leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Senate, as well as Shehryar Afridi, Zain Qureshi, Tahir Sadiq and Taimoor Masood.
This development comes two days after an ATC indicted some 100 PTI leaders and workers including jailed party founding chairman Imran Khan in connection with alleged attack on GHQ on May 9.
May 9 GHQ attack case: IK among 100 other PTI leaders indicted by ATC
Over 143 individuals, including Khan, were named as accused in the case, while 23, including Zulfi Bukhari, Shahbaz Gill and Murad Saeed, were listed as fugitives. Additionally, all accused have been prohibited from travelling abroad.
At least 70 PTI leaders were accused of planning the May 9 events and inciting the workers and supporters to attack military and government installations following the arrest of the ousted prime minister by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the ex-prime minister Imran Kha’s arrest in £190 million settlement case.
Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind the bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations last year.
During the protests, the protesters targeted the civil and military installations including – the Jinnah House and GHQ in Lahore and Rawalpindi, retrospectively. The military termed May 9 “Black Day” and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act. The PTI has challenged trial of civilians in military court, which the top court of the country is set to take up this week.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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