An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi has formally filed charges against Aleema Khan and 10 other accused in a case relating to the May 9 protests.
Aleema, the incarcerated sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, refused to sign the charge sheet and insisted that the court is awaiting the decision on her plea challenging the jurisdiction of the ATC to hear the case.
Aleema’s lawyer challenged the ATC’s jurisdiction under section 23 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
Section 23 of the ATA gives the ATC the power to transfer cases to the ordinary courts if it is of the opinion that the offense does not constitute a scheduled offence.
The petition, filed earlier, claims that Aleema is not accused of direct protest but of conveying a message from Imran Khan, an act protected by the constitutional right to freedom of expression. He argues that transmitting a message does not constitute a terrorism offense within the meaning of section 7 of the ATA.
ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah admitted Aleema’s request for a hearing and proceeded with the indictment. The judge maintained that the court would hear arguments from both parties on Aleema’s petition.
The hearing was then adjourned to October 17.
Read: ATC issues non-bailable arrest warrant for Aleema Khan
Earlier, State Attorney Zahir Shah strongly opposed the motion, calling it “illegal” and an attempt to “waste the court’s time.”
He argued that such a challenge could not interrupt the trial and pointed out that nine other defendants in the same case had already been convicted, making his request inadmissible.
This case is one of eleven registered against Aleema Khan. Other cases of May 9 include the attack on Gate IV of the General Headquarters (GHQ), the Armed Forces Museum and the burning of a metro bus station, among others.
Learn more: Court issues arrest warrant for Aleema
Earlier, the court had accepted a similar petition by Aleema Khan challenging the charges and jurisdiction of the court in a separate protest case dated November 26. At that time, the court had canceled his arrest warrants without bail.
A heavy police presence was noted at the courthouse on Wednesday.
“They had to come and arrest me. They have their orders.” She added: “If they have to arrest me, they should,” Aleema said, speaking to the media outside the ATC.
Also read: PTI workers not invited to see Aleema Khan
“We have challenged the jurisdiction of the court as the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear this case,” PTI lawyer Faisal Malik said. He confirmed that a petition with “strong arguments” had been filed and that their basic position was that “this case has no legal basis”.
The plea further states that if conveying Imran Khan’s message to media personnel is considered terrorism, then the media broadcasting it to the nation would be equally culpable. As a result, the defense requested that the terrorism charge be dropped and the entire case quashed.
The court summoned five prosecution witnesses to record their statements at the next hearing on October 17, when the defense will also present its arguments on the challenge of incompetence.
