LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court, on Saturday, ordered the release of 20 individuals after they were cleared of charges during an identification parade related to a case involving the burning of police vehicles during the May 9 riots.

Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar, however, approved a 14-day physical remand for 12 other suspects, who had been identified, giving their custody to Sarwar Road police.

Additionally, in the same case, PTI social media activist Ayesha Ali Bhutta has been granted a three-day physical remand, while another activist named Abdullah Wasim has been released on bail.

Those discharged in the case are Umar Zahoor, Hameed Ishaq, Mannan Ahmad, Asad Abbas, Ehtesham Ali, Haji Nawab, Shahzar, Jamal Mohammad, Abdul Moeed, Tayyab Khan, Shahzad Ashraf, Danish Bashir, Mohammad Adeel, Haseeb Khalid, Hashaam Sajid, Liaqat Ali, Mansoor Ahmad, Muhammad Naeem and Raheemullah Khan.

Judicial remand of 80 others extended until Sept 2

The investigating officer told the court that the suspects were arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before being sent to the judicial lock-up for identity parade. He said during the identity parade, the suspects were not correctly identified by any of the prosecution witnesses.

The judge agreed with the police report and discharged the suspects in the case.

Judicial remand for 80 suspects

In a separate matter, the judge has extended the judicial remand for 80 suspects involved in the Jinnah House attack case.

The judge instructed the police to present these suspects once again on September 2.

Sarwar Road police had registered multiple cases against the PTI leaders and its workers on charges of attacking Jinnah House, which also serves as the residence of Lahore’s corps commander, torching police vehicles and vandalizing public property during the May 9 riots.

The twenty individuals were among a larger group arrested and held in custody due to their involvement in protests that followed the arrest of Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, in a corruption case at the Islamabad High Court on May 9. These protests resulted in the vandalism of various military and civilian installations, Dawn.com reported.

According to a court order issued by the ATC, the case against these suspects was initially registered at the Sarwar Road police station. They were apprehended under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which outlines the circumstances in which a police officer can arrest someone without a warrant or judicial magistrate’s order. Subsequently, they were placed in a judicial lockup for an identification parade, as stated in the court order, which referenced an application submitted by the IO of the case.

“On August 16, during the identification parade, the prosecution witnesses were unable to identify the accused individuals,” the court order noted. Based on this, the IO submitted an application to the court, which was forwarded by the deputy prosecutor general, seeking the discharge of these suspects.

Judge Buttar ruled that since the accused individuals could not be identified during the identification parade, the court concurred with the discharge report prepared by the investigating officer. He added that the suspects should be released if they were not needed in any other case.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2023