LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday initiated the proceedings to declare four PTI leaders proclaimed offenders (POs) in the Askari Tower attack case.

Gulberg police had filed an application requesting the court to start the process of declaring former provincial minister Mian Aslam Iqbal, Ghulam Abbas, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his wife Musarrat Jamshed Cheema.

The investigating officer said the suspects had neither been arrested nor had they surrendered before the law despite issuance of their non-bailable warrants. He asked the court to declare the suspects POs for not joining the investigation against them.

Judge Abher Gul Khan allowed the application and directed the prosecution to publish a proclamation in national newspapers against the suspects.

Dismisses post-arrest bail pleas of former governor Cheema, ex-minister Rasheed

The Gulberg police had registered the case against several leaders and hundreds of workers of the PTI on charges of attacking and burning the commercial tower at Liberty Chowk during the May 9 riots following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan by the National Accountability Bureau in a graft case.

While the protests were under way, social media was flooded with footage of mobs vandalising public and private properties, including military installations. The vandalism promp­ted a state crackdown on the PTI, leading to the arrest of several party leaders and workers.

Recently, the ATC also initiated the process of declaring 22 leaders and workers of the PTI as proclaimed offenders in the Jinnah House attack case for not joining the investigation.

The suspects included former federal ministers Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib, Murad Saeed, Azam Khan Swati and Ali Amin Gandapur, former provincial minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Zubair Niazi.

Bail pleas dismissed

Separately, the anti-terrorism court dismissed post-arrest bail petitions of former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and ex-provincial minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed in cases relating to the attack on Lahore corps commander’s residence — also called Jinnah House — and torching of a container at Kalma Chowk.

Dismissing the bail plea of Mr Cheema in corps commander’s residence attack case, Judge Abher Gul Khan observed that petitioner/suspect was on fresh physical remand with the police following the addition of new offences to the FIR. The judge also adjourned his bail petition in the Askari Tower attack case.

The judge dismissed the bail petition of Mr Rasheed in the container burning case, while adjourning other petitions for bail in cases pertaining to the Shadman police station attack and torching of police vehicles in the Cantonment area.

The judge directed the petitioners’ counsel to come with more arguments at the next hearing on Sept 21.

The judge also adjourned bail petitions of PTI’s Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid in four cases of May 9 riots till Sept 19.

The cases include attacks on Shadman police station, Askari Tower and two offices of the PML-N in Model Town.

Last week, a Lahore High Court division bench had dismissed her post-arrest bail petitions with an observation that she was required to join investigation under the new charges added to the FIRs.

The bench further observed that Dr Rashid should approach the trial court for the bail first after the completion of the police investigation and later approach the high court in case she was denied the relief.

The newly included charges are waging or attempting to wage a war or abetting in waging of war against Pakistan under Section 121, abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty under Section 131 and rioting under Section 146 of the PPC.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023