- The ATC separates cases against declared violators from others.
- Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra issues arrest warrants against the absentees.
- Initiates the declaration process Aamer Kiani a declared offender.
ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in the federal capital on Wednesday found Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Umer Tanveer Butt guilty.
Separating the case against the two from the rest of the accused, the court also started the process of declaring PTI chief Aamer Mehmood Kiani also declared an offender.
Adjourning the case to January 15, ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra also issued arrest warrants for the accused who were absent from the hearing.
The case relates to a first information report (FIR) registered at I-9 police station in 2022 due to a protest organized by PTI leaders against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to disqualify the party founder Imran Khan to hold public office. .
The commission’s decision comes against the backdrop of Khan’s conviction in the first Toshakhana case – whose 14-year sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in April last year – in which he was accused of misusing his tenure as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts in state possession received during foreign visits and worth more than Rs 140 million.
The poll body’s decision sparked a strong reaction from PTI workers who staged protests across the country against the decision.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed outside the ECP office, where enraged PTI workers converged in large numbers, chanting slogans against the government.
Meanwhile, PTI chief Faisal Javed filed a petition seeking to remove the anti-terrorism provisions from the case.
This latest development adds to the KP chief minister’s legal woes, with the provincial chief executive granted some respite last week following the ATC’s decision to suspend his arrest warrants – issued in December – in a case registered at the Hassan Abdal police station.
Besides staying the arrest warrants, the court also quashed the proceedings to declare the chief minister a proclaimed offender.
