Islamabad / Lahore:
Greeting it as a “positive step”, the federal government welcomed the decision of a trial court on Tuesday to condemn a certain number of PTI leaders, including the head of the Punjab assembly, Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachar, in the cases of riot of May 9.
“Today, the Sargodha ATC has made an order and we welcome it … I think it is a very positive step because justice has been confirmed,” the Minister of State for Law and Justice, Aqeel Malik said on Monday at a press conference in Islamabad.
He said that the verdict “meets all justice requirements” and has followed a regular procedure since the entire trial procedure was carried out legally. “The announced decision is in accordance with the law and the constitution,” said Malik.
“When you take the law in hand, whether you are an MNA or a MPA or an opposition chief … [status] It doesn’t matter, because the law is equal to everyone and will come into force. “”
Responding to the verdict, Bhachar wrote on X that he would not leave “the chief of Umat-E-Muslima and the son of Mianwali Prime Minister Imran Khan” whatever happens.
Other PTI leaders have also condemned the verdicts as a mockery of justice.
The vice-chief of the opposition to the Assembly of Punjab, Muhammad Moeen Ud Din Riaz Qureshi, qualified the verdicts of ATC a “dark day for democracy”, according to the legislators, of which Bhachar of the largest province was illegally condemned to rest on fabricated evidence and witnesses.
“Each child in Pakistan knows the fate of these cases well. The public is fully aware of the conduct of the Court. The PTI will dispute the ATC decision before the Court of Appeal. Bhachar was the opposition leader and he will remain the head of the opposition,” he said.
The PTI chief whip in the Punjab assembly, Rana Shahbaz Ahmad, said that such verdicts will not force them to bow, because they defended a cause and the future of the nation.
“If such decisions persist, there is no doubt that 80% of the PTI legislators will be condemned-despite any link with FIR offenses,” he said.
He demanded that the government were a committee to examine forged cases registered in the Punjab against the managers, workers and supporters of the PTI.
Another Waqas Maan legislator criticized ATC’s verdict, calling it “justice funeral”. He warned the government against the opposition, reminding him that she could face a situation similar to the future.
