Islamabad: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has indicted Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in connection with the May 9 attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) in 2023, The Express Tribune reported.
The attack took place during the protests that erupted in Pakistan after Imran Khan's arrest. ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah conducted a hearing for the GHQ attack case at a makeshift court setup in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
More than 100 individuals, including Omar Ayub, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Sheikh Rashid, Omar Ayub, Raja Basharat, Zartaj Gul have been indicted in the case, according to The Express Tribune report.
After the judge announced his decision, opposition leader in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, was arrested, while Punjab's former law minister Raja Basharat was taken into custody immediately after leaving the jail.
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Subsequently, the judge adjourned the case until December 10. Earlier, several PTI leaders including Sadaqat Abbasi, Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, Mohammad Ahmed Chatha, Omar Ayub, Zartaj Gul, Rashid Shafiq, Sadaqat Abbasi, Waseem Qayyum Abbasi, Javed Kausar, Sajid Qureshi, and Usman Dar, reached Adiala Jail for the hearing.
The court had summoned all accused in the GHQ attack case, with charges expected to be formally brought against 120 individuals, including Imran Khan, The Express Tribune reported.
Furthermore, the court has ordered Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is incarcerated in Lahore Jail, to appear before the court.
The court ordered that arrests be made for several PTI leaders, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Shibli Faraz, Shireen Mazari, Zartaj Gul, Zain Qureshi, and Taiba Raja.
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In addition, arrest warrants were issued for 45 absconding accused, with the court warning that legal proceedings would start to declare them fugitives if they did not appear before the court.
Earlier this year, PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested in the GHQ attack case, after his release warrant was issued in the cypher case. The GHQ attack case report mentions 27 severe charges against Imran Khan and other accused individuals, The Express Tribune reported.
The report alleges that the accused under the leadership of former Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat stormed the GHQ gate, causing significant property damage despite being warned by military personnel to stop. The accused have been alleged of storming sensitive areas of GHQ, setting fire, throwing petrol bombs and creating chaos within the premises.
Chants like "No Pakistan without Khan" and "Behind this terrorism is the uniform" were allegedly raised, targeting military personnel and attacking the reputation of Pakistan's armed forces. The investigation report stated that attacks were made on sensitive ISI and GHQ offices, terming the protest as a criminal conspiracy. (with Agency inputs)
