RAWALPINDI: Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari and eight other suspects have been charged by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in connection with the GHQ attack.
The allegations came days after PTI founder Imran Khan was accused of arson and vandalism at the GHQ in Rawalpindi during the May 9 attack last year.
Along with former federal minister Mazari, the nine others arrested in the case are PTI leaders Rashid Hafiz, Hadim Hussain Khokhar, Zakirullah, Azeemullah, Tahir Sadiq, Mehar Javed, Chaudhry Asif and Munir.
All the accused pleaded not guilty in a hearing presided over by ATC judge Amjad Ali Shah in a special court set up in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
The court summoned the suspect for today’s trial. Former PTI vice chairman Khan Shah Mahmood Qureshi was brought before a judge as he was taken to jail from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.
The prosecuting attorney asked the court to revoke the bail of the suspects, which has stopped the trial
“It deliberately delayed the trial,” the prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, a case under Section 265-D of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been registered against Qureshi without sufficient evidence to quash the prosecution.
The court fixed the petition for hearing on December 19 and adjourned the proceedings.
The case was adjourned until December 19.
At least 70 PTI leaders and Khan were accused by the National Accounts Bureau (NAB) in 2023 of planning the May 9 events and attacking military and government institutions after the ousted prime minister’s arrest.
During the protest, miscreants targeted civilian and military facilities – Jinnah House and General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military called May 9 “Black Day” and decided to try the protesters under martial law.
However, the PTI founder blamed “establishment men” for burning and firing at several places during violent protests on May 9.
The then government and the current ruling parties blamed the PTI founder and top party leaders for engineering attacks on military installations.
