On Friday, a special anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Gujranwala sentenced the main accused in the attempted assassination against the former Prime Minister and Founder of the PTI, Imran Khan, in two terms in perpetuity and a fine of 500,000 rupees.
The court discovered that the suspect, Naveed, guilty of terrorism and the murder of worker PTI Moazzam during the attack on Khan in Wazirabad in November 2022. In addition to the two perpetuity convictions, Naveed also received prison conditions ranging from three to five years for having injured four other people during the incident.
Two other accused in the case, Tayyab Jahangir Butt and Waqas, were acquitted by the court due to the lack of evidence.
Earlier in February 2023, the same ATC court had given a deposit to another suspect, Ahsan, brother of a local chief of Pakistan Muslim League (N), while rejecting the bond advocacy of the co-accused Waqas. Ahsan was released after submitting bonds worth 500,000 rupees.
The case stems from a firearm attack during the long step of the PTI in Wazirabad on November 3, 2022. The attack left Imran Khan, Senator Faisal Javed, and several other injured, while a supporter of PTI, Moazzam, was killed.
Khan later accused senior government officials, including the Federal Minister of the Interior, of being involved in the conspiracy. The incident led to a political and legal impasse before the police officially recorded the case.
A joint investigation team (JIT) was trained on November 3 under the 1997 law against terrorism, and the first information report (FIR) was officially filed on November 7.
