An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Monday approved a plea from police to initiate the process for declaring 20 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, as well as Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, “absconders” for refusing to cooperate with the ongoing probe into the May 9 riots.
During the hearing, police informed the ATC that the PTI leaders were not cooperating with the investigation and were currently in hiding despite being aware of their role in the pending cases and the issuance of nonbailable arrest warrants for them. Due to this persistent refusal to cooperate, police pleaded, the court should declare the accused as “absconders.”
Accepting the police’s request, the court initiated the process to declare Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib, Murad Saeed, Zubair Niazi, Hassaan Niazi, Ali Amin Gandapur, Azam Swati, Andleeb Abbas and 11 others as “proclaimed offenders” in the case related to the ransacking of the Lahore Corps Commander’s House. It directed the prosecution to publish a proclamation in national newspapers for the suspects to appear before investigators by Aug. 16.
Separately, the ATC also extended by two weeks the judicial remand of PTI leaders Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhary, and former Punjab governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema. The court further instructed police to submit challans against the accused in the next hearing on Aug. 7. Both Cheema and Rashid were produced before the court, with the investigating officer informing the judge the investigation report against the suspects was nearing completion, but required more time.
During arguments, Rashid’s counsel noted police had not submitted a challan despite 76 days having passed since her arrest and the law calling for its submission within 14 days. He argued that the delay was “political victimization” aimed at keeping her in jail. The hearing was then adjourned till
Following the arrest of PTI chief Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case on May 9, party leaders, workers and workers staged violent demonstrations nationwide, targeting both civil and military assets. After nearly three days of riots that ended with the release of Khan on Supreme Court orders, authorities initiated a crackdown against the party, arresting thousands of suspects. In a statement issued after the riots, military described May 9 as a “black day” in Pakistan’s history and vowed to ensure punishments for all culprits under all relevant laws, including the Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.