Faizabad protest: ATC shelves cases against Khadim Rizvi, others

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) shelved on Monday three cases against Khadim Rizvi and others over their involvement in several cases of violence, including an attack on a police check post, during the Faizabad sit-in last year.

ATC Judge Shahrukh Arjumand halted the court proceedings against the leaders of the religious party on a request filed by the prosecution.

The prosecutor, in the request, mentioned that the police are investigating cases from scratch, adding that the police will file a new charge-sheetafter the completion of the investigation.

The prosecutor requested the court to halt the proceedings till the new challan is filed. 

The court approved the prosecution's petition and postponed the case indefinitely. 

Rizvi was declared a proclaimed offender by the ATC earlier this month as he and other party leaders are absconding in around two dozen cases registered against them. 

An official of Aabpara police station had told the court that last month police had pasted a proclamation on the wall of the seminary of Rizvi and at a famous intersection, besides pasting a notice in Nawankot police station, asking Rizvi to surrender within 30 days. But the cleric has not surrendered despite the expiry of the deadline.

The ATC judge then declared Rizvi and some other party leaders, including Maulana Inayatullah and Sheikh Azhar, proclaimed offenders.

Rizvi's religious party protested against the government at Faizabad Interchange of Islamabad for around three weeks in November last year, bringing the capital to a standstill. Their protest was against changes in the oath that elected lawmakers take. 

The sit-in was called off after an agreement with the government. 

Recently, the party again began protesting in Lahore, blocking all major roads of the city as well as in other areas of the country. That movement was called off after another agreement with the government.