RAWALPINDI: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi on Monday rejected the acquittal plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan and two others in the May 9 GHQ attack case.
Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Amjad Ali Shah rejected the plea filed by PTI founder Imran Khan, Colonel (retd) Ajmal Saber and Sohail Irfan Abbasi in the May 9 GHQ attack case.
During the hearing of the petitions, Prosecutor Zaheer Shah argued that the trial of the case was ongoing, the statements of 12 eyewitnesses had been recorded, and it was not appropriate to hear the petition for acquittal at this atage.
The prosecutor further said that the court should give an opportunity to the prosecution to record the testimony.
Earlier, Sheikh Rasheed’s acquittal plea was also rejected by the trial court, while the high court also upheld the decision of the trial court.
The court agreed with the arguments of the prosecution and rejected all three pleas.
The trial for the GHQ attack case began in Adiala jail, where witnesses presented key evidence against the accused, including helmets, petrol bombs, mobile phones, batons, PTI-branded caps, and other ‘key items’.
During the proceedings, four eyewitnesses from Rawalpindi police – ASI Saqib, constables Shakeel, Sajjad, and Yasir – recorded their statements before the court.
The items recovered from the accused and presented before the court as evidence included a helmet allegedly snatched from the security personnel, petrol bombs, broken pieces of martyrs’ statues, mobile phones, batons, flags, PTI-branded caps, wires, and matchsticks.
One of the eyewitnesses identified multiple accused, including former provincial minister Raja Basharat, and testified that he had led the protest outside GHQ.
During the proceedings, Imran Khan was present in the courtroom, while tensions flared between defense lawyers and the prosecution over legal arguments.
The court summoned five additional witnesses at the next hearing and adjourned the proceedings until January 18.