ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan, PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and another leader in two different long march vandalism cases.

District Magistrate Shehzad Khan and Mureed Abbas while announcing their reserved verdicts in different courts acquitted Khan and other leaders in two cases registered against them at Kohsar and Karachi Company police stations for violation of Section 144 during the long march.

The other PTI leaders who were acquitted by the court included Zartaj Gul, Faisal Javed, and Qasim Suri.

The court also acquitted PTI’s former leader Asad Umar, Ali Nawaz Awan, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Shireen Mazari, and Awami Muslim League Chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.

PTI lawyers Naeem Haider Panjotha, Sardar Masroof, and Amina Ali appeared before the court and argued over the acquittal application of Khan and other leaders.

Both the courts after hearing the argument reserved their verdict for some time. Later, while announcing its judgment, court acquitted Khan and other leaders from both cases.

Panjotha, while talking to the media, said that all the cases against Khan and other PTI leaders were based on political vengeance.

No evidence of vandalism was found against PTI founder during the long march, he said, adding that the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration did not issue any notification to enforce Section 144 in the capital city.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024