ATC summons four federal ministers for next hearing of PTV, Parliament attack cases

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in the federal capital on Thursday directed four federal ministers to appear for the next hearing of the cases related to attacks on Pakistan Television (PTV) and Parliament House in 2014.

ATC Judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi heard the cases pertaining to the attacks on PTV and Parliament House in 2014.

Accepting the requests for exemptions from court hearings filed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jehangir Tareen, the court ordered them to appear for the next hearing.

In September, the ATC had granted Prime Minister Imran Khan permanent exemption from appearing before it in the cases.

The prime minister and other party leaders, including Umar and Qureshi, are accused of attacking the Parliament and PTV office during the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad.

The PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leaders were booked after they marched towards the Parliament and PM House during the 2014 sit-in, in an attempt to topple the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government after the Model Town incident. They also clashed with policemen along their way.