Rawalpindi. The indictment against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and other accused in the May 9 GHQ attack case was postponed for the fourth time on Thursday.
Judge Amjad Ali Shah of Rawalpindi’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) heard the case. During the proceedings, 10 more accused filed petitions for acquittal due to lack of evidence. The court scheduled a further hearing to consider the pleas and proceed with the case.
The special prosecutor said that no one can say that GHQ was not attacked. Speaking to the media outside the court, Special Prosecutor Raja Ikram Amin Minhas said that we have complete evidence. No one can claim that GHQ was not attacked. If you are true, why are you not facing the court?
He added that the accused are still trying to delay the hearing, as the prosecution requested the court to hold the hearing daily. He said that the accused had once again sought exemption from attendance, an attempt was being made to disrupt the court proceedings.
The special prosecutor said that there were 119 accused in the case, the indictment cannot be read due to non-complete attendance. “We have asked the court to cancel his bails as he is misusing them,” he said.
Babar Awan Advocate speaking to the media outside the court said that ‘All have failed, all have lost their honor, one person stands for the honor of all. When Imran Khan calls, we will again go towards Islamabad.
He said that Pakistan is currently a state where citizens are being treated like cattle. Citizens are being denied entry into Islamabad. Protest is a fundamental right of citizens and it is a violation of the constitution of Pakistan.
Babar Awan further said that ‘a defeated army government was installed, incidents like Model Town and Islamabad took place, those who came to power carried out public killings. The bodies were taken away from those who were taking them for burial.
He said that I support the Supreme Court Bar Council. The accused should be arrested soon. Blood cannot hide. These people will also face the court of Allah. If the courts had stopped the kidnapping, we would not have reached the point of murder.
Babar Awan said that the martyrs belong to the small provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The shooters will have to face the consequences. All groups of lawyers are united in the belief that the rule of law will prevail. 36 years of martial law have tarnished Quaid-e-Azam’s vision of Pakistan.
More than 143 accused including Imran Khan were named in this case while 23 accused including Zulfiqar Bukhari and Shahbaz Gul are absconding. A ban has also been imposed on the foreign travel of the accused.