RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s plea seeking to stop court proceedings in May 9 case pertaining to attack on General Headquarters (GHQ).
The case was heard by Judge Amjad Ali Shah of the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court, where Imran Khan’s counsels Faisal Malik and Salman Akram Raja appeared.
During the proceedings, the defence argued that Imran Khan had sought provision of CCTV footage of the September 19 hearing as well as a request to halt trial proceedings until the High Court’s order on the transfer of trial to jail premises.
Advocate Faisal Malik contended that the defence did not wish to participate in proceedings without consultation with their client.
The court, however, reminded him that during the last hearing Imran Khan was allowed to communicate with his counsel but chose to boycott the proceedings.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Pakistan approved bail for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in eight cases linked to the 9 May violence.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi heard the case. The Chief Justice announced the oral verdict, granting bail in all eight cases and ordering Imran Khan’s release.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Afridi raised two questions. He asked whether a final finding could be given in a bail case and whether the principle of consistency, applied in past conspiracy related cases, would apply here.
Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi argued that observations in bail matters are always interim in nature and do not affect trial proceedings. He cited earlier Supreme Court guidelines and read out past judgments, including the Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry case.
The Chief Justice responded that in conspiracy-related cases the Supreme Court had often approved bail. He asked the prosecutor to show an example where bail was denied in such cases.
The prosecutor insisted that evidence existed in the current case, including WhatsApp messages, witness statements, photogrammetric and voice-matching tests. He said Imran Khan had not cooperated with these tests in jail.
Justice Hasan Azhar questioned whether proper investigation had taken place after Khan was granted pre-arrest bail on 14 May. The prosecutor maintained that the PTI founder was the central figure in all cases.
Chief Justice Afridi, however, stressed that findings must come from the trial court, not the Supreme Court. He said the Court should remain cautious in bail matters to avoid affecting the trial.
Imran Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar argued that no charge sheets had been filed in the eight cases. He said Khan was named in only three FIRs while his name did not appear in the other five.
The hearing had been adjourned a day earlier due to the illness of Special Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi. The Court resumed proceedings today before delivering its decision.
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