ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday extended the physical remand of nine Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers arrested during the November 24 protest for three days.

Police produced the nine accused after the expiry of the previous four-day physical remand before ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain for extending their physical remand.

At the start of the hearing, the prosecutor requested the court to extend the physical remand of the accused to conduct further investigation.

PTI’s lawyer Ansar Kiyani, while objecting to the plea, argued that the police had yet not identified the specific roles of the accused. He added that the individuals had been arrested at their homes and claimed that the police were simply fulfilling the number of arrests they had previously reported to the media. Kiyani requested the court to discharge the accused from the case.

In response, the judge instructed the investigation officer to ensure that no innocent individuals were falsely implicated and that the investigation followed due process. After hearing the arguments, the court granted an extension of three days of physical remand.

Meanwhile, as many as 56 PTI workers who were arrested during the November 24 protest, filed bail applications before ATC. Out of 56 accused, three are underage children.

Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali filed the bail applications before the court.

The court issued notice and sought arguments on December 13 on the bail application of the three underage children, and on December 16 on the bail pleas of the 53 other accused.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024