ATC reserves verdict on Imran Khan's pre-arrest bail appeal in 2014 PTV attack case
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday appeared before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad for a hearing regarding an attack on Pakistan Television (PTV) headquarters in 2014. The court has reserved verdict on his pre-arrest bail appeal, DawnNews reported.
ATC judge Shahrukh Arjumand has adjourned the hearing until 2:30pm. Khan, speaking to reporters outside, said that he would return to the court.
Khan, who is one of the accused in four cases related to the attack, was granted an interim bail last year in all four cases relating to the attack; however, his request for the case to be transferred to a civil court was turned down by the court in December.
During the hearing, Khan's lawyer Babar Awan tried to convince the court that Khan should not be named in the case and said that the PTI chief was not named in the statements by the police officials that were attacked by the protesters back in 2014.
Awan told the court that 11 witnesses had recorded their statements regarding the attack on Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asmatullah and Constable Sajjad Ahmed, arguing that the officials had not specifically named Imran Khan. He also read out the first information report and the statements of the SSP and constable in court.
The state prosecutor rejected Awan's arguments, saying that Khan and PAT chief Tahirul Qadri had incited violence during the protests, that ultimately led to the attack on PTV, SSP Asmatullah and Constable Ahmed. He was rebuked by Khan, who spoke up during the prosecutor's arguments, saying that the claim was a lie. The prosecutor, however, said that he had recordings of the speeches given by Khan during the protests as well as pictures of the PTV attack. He then showed the pictures to the courtroom.
Awan responded that Khan's protest was not to spread violence but to provide awareness to the public.
When the judge asked whether any of the PTV attackers, who had been identified from CCTV footage obtained from the state television headquarters, were arrested, police officials that appeared in the court today, responded in the negative.
The state lawyer added that Imran Khan only surrendered and appeared in court after the ATC ordered authorities to seize his assets and issued arrest warrants against him.
Earlier in the morning when the hearing commenced, Khan's lawyer Babar Awan had not appeared before the court due to his engagements in the Supreme Court. His assistant lawyer, Shahid Gondal, had appeared on his behalf.
Attack on PTV office
In 2014, Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Tahirul Qadri staged a major rally in Islamabad against alleged rigging in the 2013 election and the Model Town tragedy, which had seen as many as 14 people killed and 100 others injured when police attacked Qadri's residence during an 'anti-encroachment' operation.
Khan had threatened to shut down the entire country in what was perceived as a bid to topple the government. The protest had continued for a record 104 days.
On Sept 1, 2014, while the sit-in was still ongoing, Senior Superintendent of Police Asmatullah Junejo had been beaten up by protesters on Constitution Avenue as they stormed the PTV headquarters and the precincts of the Parliament.
Hundreds of PTI and PAT supporters led by their leaders had briefly seized the state broadcaster on Sept 1, 2014, at a time when the country was under intense political crisis.
The protesters had disrupted transmission of PTV news channel and PTV World for a short period of time. The buildings were later cleared by personnel of the Pakistan Army.
A case had been registered against Khan, Qadri, and others for torturing SSP Junejo and five other police officers. Both leaders had been declared proclaimed offenders and arrest warrants were issued against them.
The ATC had declared Khan a proclaimed offender and issued non-bailable warrants for his arrest in November 2015.
In November 2017, the PTI chief had finally surrendered before the ATC in four cases regarding the 2014 sit-ins after the court ordered confiscation of his movable and immovable assets.
After the surrender, the court had withdrawn his arrest warrants and granted pre-arrest interim bail to the PTI chief.