A total of 319 cases have been recorded across the province in connection with the May 9-10 incident.
Protesters throw stones after police fired tear gas to disperse them in Lahore, May 9, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to withdraw over 55 pending cases in various courts against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers in connection with the violent protests that followed the arrest of PTI founder president Imran Khan on May 9-10. The decision follows formal approval granted by the provincial cabinet.
According to official records, a total of 319 cases have been recorded across the province in connection with the incidents of May 9 and 10. Most of these cases have already been concluded and many defendants have been acquitted or released by the courts due to insufficient evidence. Currently, 55 files are still being judged and will be withdrawn once the minutes of the council of ministers are published.
The government also appointed Additional Attorney General Inam Yousafzai as special prosecutor to oversee matters related to terrorism-related cases.
KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel said that while 319 cases were initially registered, not all of them contained sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). In several cases, decisions were made upon submission of written responses, while in others, responses were still pending. The 55 unanswered cases are those intended for withdrawal.
He further said that 29 cases under the ATA were still pending, while 23 had already been concluded, including eight acquittals.
The remaining cases were transferred to the regular courts after determining that the provisions of the ATA were not applicable.
Currently, six terrorism-related cases remain pending. One of them has already been submitted for removal and responses to the other five are in progress. Once completed, all files from May 9 to 10 will be closed.
Uthmankhel added that after the official publication of the minutes of the cabinet meeting, petitions will be filed in the relevant courts to withdraw the remaining cases. After discussions, the government expects that no cases from May 9 or 10 will remain active.
Meanwhile, a separate report on the cases pending before the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATC) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has also been released. According to the report, 416 cases are currently pending in the province’s 10 ATC courts.
Peshawar tops the list with 192 pending cases in its three ATC courts. The report notes that 100 cases were decided in November, with Peshawar alone deciding 57. However, the ATC courts in Buner, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan did not decide any cases during the same period.
