In a significant development, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday instructed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan be presented before the court at the next hearing concerning the judicial complex attack case. The court mandated his appearance either in person or via video link.
Judge Tahir Abbas Supra ordered the relevant authorities to ensure Imran Khan’s presence. Meanwhile, the court declared former ministers Farah Habib, Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, and Shibli Faraz as proclaimed offenders and requested detailed information regarding their properties.
Additionally, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Wasim Qayyum and PTI Member of Provincial Assembly Hassan Khan Niazi. The court postponed further proceedings until November 5. This case was initially registered at Ramna police station against PTI leaders in connection with the attack on the judicial complex.
The case involves sharply divergent narratives from the prosecution, police, defense, and judiciary. State prosecutors and government officials, led by then interior minister Rana Sanaullah, accused Imran Khan and his party leadership of orchestrating a deliberate attack aimed at intimidating the judiciary and pressuring courts for favorable decisions.
Islamabad police supported this stance through first information reports filed at Ramna and Counter-Terrorism Department police stations. The FIRs allege that Imran Khan and senior PTI leaders, including Asad Umar, Hammad Azhar, and Ali Amin Gandapur, were involved in terrorism, arson, rioting, and attempted murder by inciting party workers to breach security gates and assault police officers.
On the other hand, Imran Khan and his defense team, comprising lawyers Salman Safdar and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, have denied all accusations. They claim the disorder resulted from excessive force and provocation by law enforcement agencies, intended to entrap or arrest him.
Notably, trial court judges, including Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal, have previously observed that the security failure and violent conditions outside the judicial complex rendered physical hearings unsafe. Consequently, the court recorded Imran Khan’s attendance from his vehicle during earlier proceedings.
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