An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday dismissed the acquittal pleas of PTI leaders including party founder-chairman Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the GHQ attack case related to the May 9, 2023, violent protests.
The court also rejected the acquittal pleas of PTI leaders Shibli Faraz, Shahryar Afridi, Kanwal Shauzab, Umar Tanvir Butt and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry.
Special Public Prosecutor Zaheer Shah presented arguments against the acquittal petitions, while lawyers Faisal Chaudhry and Faisal Malik represented the PTI leaders along with the legal team.
Rejecting the pleas, the ATC said acquittal petitions became infructuous after the indictment of the accused in the case.
The court also rejected the pleas of four accused to go abroad due to incomplete documents.
A day earlier, ATC Rawalpindi Judge Amjad Ali Shah indicted PTI leader Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur among 14 in the GHQ attack case.
A total of 113 suspects have been indicted in the case so far while the court also summoned the other six accused named in the case tomorrow (Saturday).
The GHQ attack case emanated from the May 9 riots that broke out in several parts of the country following the arrest of former PM Imran in a corruption case.
The violent protests also saw attacks on public properties including military installations including the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, the corps commander’s house in Lahore and others.
The attacks and ransacking of the army properties resulted in the registration of dozens of cases against the PTI leaders and workers, with several members facing trial under the Army Act.
Separately, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, said on Friday that the government firmly believes in democratic and political dialogue to resolve all issues.
Talking to PTV News, he said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and coalition members have consistently extended dialogue offers to the opposition over the past ten months.
He noted that the Prime Minister made a personal visit to the opposition benches in parliament, inviting them to negotiations as a gesture aimed at fostering political harmony.
However, he said that these overtures were met with reluctance and dismissiveness from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). PTI does not believe in democratic norms and values but prefers politics based on divisiveness and hatred, he added.
He said, “Our resolve for meaningful negotiations remains unwavering. From day one, we have demonstrated seriousness and continue to seek consensus for the stability and progress of the country.”
Moreover, a day after incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan issued a new ultimatum of launching a civil disobedience movement if his “legitimate demands” are not met, Prime Minister’s aide on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah hinted at “progress” in holding talks with the former ruling party, reiterating that political issues should be resolved through dialogue.
“[National Assembly] speaker has contacted the prime minister […] I think there will be progress in this regard in a day or two,” he said while responding to a question regarding the formation of the government committee for talks with PTI while speaking to a private TV channel.
The jailed PTI founder – in a post on X – had warned the government of launching a civil disobedience movement if his “legitimate demands” including the release of under-trial political prisoners and a judicial probe into May 9 events and Nov 26 crackdown on PTI protesters are not met by Sunday (Dec 22).
̶0;These are both legitimate demands, and if the government does not implement them by Sunday, the first phase of the civil disobedience movement, ‘boycott of remittances’, will be launched,” the ousted prime minister added.
The PM’s aide statement comes against the backdrop of prevailing ambiguity surrounding the PTI-government dialogue which has been the talk of the town ever since Imran formed a negotiation committee.
Earlier this week, the reports of the former ruling party and the government’s agreement to use the parliamentary forum for negotiation emerged following a meeting between PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
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