The case of GHQ struck another road bump, this time on WhatsApp. The founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-insaaf Imran Khan received the order to attend the trial by Videolink at the last hearing, to which Imran vehemently opposed. The lawyers of Imran and Imran himself announced their boycott of the procedure of the case and asked the High Court of Lahore to allow Imran to be able to present physically during the hearings.
Imran’s lawyers, Salman Akram Raja, challenged the notification of the interior department on Tuesday before the High Court of Lahore (LHC). The petition argued that by virtue of article 10a of the Constitution, a fair trial is compulsory.
The petition has requested that the video liaison trial be declared illegal and unconstitutional, and that all the procedures recorded via WhatsApp link be made zero and not with.
According to the petitioner, in a trial in prison, the accused, the lawyers and the family are present, allowing an appropriate consultation. However, the video link and the WhatsApp tests violate fair trial rules. The petition underlined the urgent legal points and requested an accelerated hearing.
The request details that for a fair trial, Imran must be produced from prison before the court and that the remaining half of the trial, which has already partially took place by prison hearings, be carried out as trials in prison.
The initial hearing of the petition is expected on Wednesday September 25 before a division bench of judge Sadaqat Ali Khan and Judge Waheed Khan.
Read: When will you go back the last time you saw Imran Khan?
Address to media
After having boycotted the legal proceedings, the lawyer for the founder of the PTI, Salman Akram Raja, told the media that Imran had been presented via a video link to the court at the last hearing on September 19, but the audio and the video were poor. They asked to speak with the founder of PTI, but due to the low connection, communication was not possible.
He said that it was not possible to openly discuss certain questions in court, because certain points cannot be raised in public. The founder of the PTI is not aware of what is happening in the courtroom, and they filed a request in court, declaring that they could not participate in the trial under these conditions.
Salman Akram Raja said that the current trial is laughing at the legal concept of a fair trial. He stressed that the trial should be held in an open court, allowing the accused to consult the lawyers and observe the witnesses. The accused has the right to directly face witnesses, creating responsibility.
He said that the founder of the PTI had been deliberately isolated in a closed room so that he could not see the procedure. “We have released and will not participate in this trial as long as it continues this way. We have also filed a request in the bench of the High Court of Lahore Rawalpindi and hope that it will be heard soon,” he added.
He noted that in the Cypher case, the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) had declared a similar illegal trial. If lawyers are present, a legal consultation is possible. “The trial has been underway for a year and a half, and using a video link is an attempt to isolate the founder of PTI,” he said.
Raja added that there is no reason for witnesses and lawyers to be present in court while the founder of the PTI is on a video link. “During prison hearings in Adiala, everyone is present and the founder of the PTI can communicate and consult everyone there.”
GHQ attack
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in December 2024 accused the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and other PTI leaders as part of May 9, 2023, attacks the general seat (GHQ).
Earlier this year, Imran Khan was arrested in the GHQ attack case and shortly after, his liberation mandate was issued in the Cypher. Express News obtained a copy of the GHQ attack case report, which describes 27 serious accusations against Imran Khan and other accused.
Find out more: Imran Khan charged in the attack case on May 9 of May 9
The report alleges that, under the direction of the former Minister of the Provincial Act Raja Basharat, the accused stormed the GHQ door, causing significant material damage despite his opinion on military personnel.
The accused would also have disclosed sensitive areas of the GHQ, fixed fires, launched petrol bombs and created chaos in the premises.
According to the report, songs such as “no Pakistan without Khan” and “behind this terrorism is the uniform” would have been raised, targeting military staff and attacking the reputation of the armed forces of Pakistan.
The investigation report indicates that attacks have also been launched on the Sensitive offices of the ISI and the GHQ, characterizing the protest as a criminal plot.
