An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has dismissed acquittal applications of several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including party founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in connection with the GHQ May 9, 2023. attack case.
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 prosecutor Zaheer Shah opposed the acquittal pleas, while PTI leaders were represented by lawyers Faisal Chaudhry and Faisal Malik. The court ruled that the pleas proved “unfruitful” after the defendants were formally charged in the case.
Additionally, the court rejected the four defendants’ requests to travel abroad due to incomplete documentation.
A day earlier, ATC judge Amjad Ali Shah charged Qureshi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur along with 12 others, raising the total number of suspects charged in the case. to 113. The court has summoned six other defendants for trial on Saturday.
The Headquarters attack case arises from violent unrest that broke out across Pakistan following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a corruption case. The protests, which included attacks on military installations and public properties, led to numerous cases being registered against PTI leaders and members, with several of them facing trials under the Army Act.
