An anti-terrorist court of Rawalpindi rejected on Monday the acquittal requests filed by the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and two co-accused in the case of the attack of the general headquarters (GHQ) of May 9 , Express News reported.
Judge Amjad Ali Shah rejected the arguments presented by Imran Khan, the retired colonel Ajmal Sabir and Suhail Irfan Abbasi, ruling in favor of the accusation arguments.
During the hearing, prosecutor Zaheer Shah argued that the trial was underway, the declarations of 12 eyewitnesses being already recorded. “At this point, hearing an acquittal plea is inappropriate. The court should allow the accusation to present its proofs, “he added.
He also quoted a precedent, stressing that the acquittal request for Cheikh Rashid in a similar case had been rejected by the court of first instance, a decision confirmed later by the High Court. The court, sharing the arguments of the accusation, rejected the acquittal requests of the three accused.
The GHQ attack case concerns violent incidents that occurred on May 9, 2023, when demonstrators stormed and vandalized military facilities after the arrest of Imran Khan, triggering generalized disorders across Pakistan.
