ATC issues non-bailable arrest warrants for 50 PTI leaders in November 26 protest case

• Non-bailable arrest warrants, issued Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain.
• Sheikh Waqas Akram, Shandana Gulzar among those facing arrest.
• Other ATC maintains KP CM's "absconder" status in Faizabad case.
  

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for as many as 50 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in a November 26, 2024, protest case.

The non-bailable arrest warrants, issued by ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, include the likes of former president Dr Arif Alvi, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz, National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, party's Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, Faisal Javed, Umar Amin Gandapur, Hammad Azhar, Atif Khan, Muraad Saeed, Raoof Hasan, Ahmed Niazi, Abdul Qayyum Niaza and others.

Other leaders facing arrest warrants also include PTI founder Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan, the party's Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, Kanwal Shauzab, Shandana Gulzar, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shoaib Shaheen, Azam Khan Swati and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzah Hamid Raza.

The development comes as the incarcerated PTI founder, along with senior party leaders, are facing several cases related to the former ruling party's much-hyped protest last month in Islamabad, aimed at securing the PTI founder's release, which culminated in the party's hasty retreat after the government's midnight crackdown on the protesters.

The protesters were dispersed from the Red Zone in Islamabad following a crackdown by law enforcers, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI founder Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi taking to their heels, fleeing the protest site.

The law enforcement agencies had arrested more than 1,000 supporters of the party who stormed the federal capital to demand his release.

Today's arrest warrants were issued in response to the request made by the Karachi Company Police Station personnel while citing two cases registered in the federal capital.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, an ATC of Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra decided to maintain KP CM Gandapur's "absconder" in the Faizabad protest case and upheld his arrest warrants while converting them from bailable to non-bailable.

The judge also directed the police to arrest Gandapur, against whom a case is registered at the Industrial Area Police Station in Islamabad.

Separately, dealing another blow to the former ruling party, the Punjab Assembly Secretariat on Thursday issued a notification removing Malik Ahmed Khan Bachar as the Opposition Leader in the provincial legislature.

The move comes days after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified him and MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chattha following their convictions in a vandalism case related to the May 9 riots.

The case was registered in Mianwali over vandalism and riots related to the protests triggered by the arrest of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in a corruption case on May 9, 2023.