A district and sessions court acquitted on Wednesday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi along with several other leaders in the case registered at Aapbara Police Station, Aaj News reported.

Judicial Magistrate Yasir Mehmood announced the reserved verdict after hearing arguments from PTI lawyers, Advocate Sardar Masroof and Advocate Ansar Kayani.

Background

PTI leaders, Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Sheikh Rashid, Murad Saeed, Faisal Javeed, Ali Nawaz, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Faisal Vawda, Shehzad Waseem, Sadaqat Abbasi, ShibliFaraz, Saif Ullah Khan Niazi, Shehryar Afridi, Fayazul Hasan Chohan, Firdus Shamim Naqvi, Asad Qaiser, Zaheer Abbas Khokar, and others were also nominated in the first information report (FIR) registered at Aabpara police station.

The cases against them were filed after PTI workers took to the streets and held demonstrations outside ECP offices across Pakistan after the ECP disqualified Imran in the Toshakhana case.

The FIR was registered under sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the complaint, filed by Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Muhammad Anwar.

The FIR said that the above-nominated leaders and party workers gathered at Zero Point at the behest of Imran who was carrying party flags and banners and chanting slogans.