Rawalpindi:
On Wednesday, the department of the Maison du Punjab withdrew its previous notification to carry out the trial of the GHQ attack cases within Adiala prison and now ordered that the procedure was maintained by video connection, a decision rejected by Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI).
During the business hearing, the prosecutors Ikram Ameen Minhas and Zaheer Shah submitted the notification of video link to the court. On this special anti-terrorism court judge (ATC), Amjad Ali Shah announced that the case would be heard three times a week.
The court summoned three witnesses and asked the prison superintendent to guarantee arrangements for video liaison hearings. The ATC judge postponed the hearing for a GHQ attack case until September 19 and postponed hearings in 11 other related cases until October 1.
The distribution of Challans copies among the accused, who have not yet received them, would continue when the indictment is expected at the next hearing. Opinions were brought to the SHO of the Ra Bazaar police station.
Opinions were also brought to the investigation team for the production of three dependent witnesses. The court also issued an assignment to all the accused to appear on October 1, including the chief minister of KP, Ali Amin Gandapur, who will be represented by his litigant.
The trial in prison in these cases remained suspended for three months before the new arrangement was taken. Of the 119 witnesses in the GHQ attacks, declarations of 27 have already been recorded.
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Sadaqat Abbasi and other accused were present in court, while Umar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul and Kanwal Shauzab did not appear despite mandates pending for their arrest.
The court noted that the courts of Faisalabad had previously granted convictions and issued mandates for 14 accused who, according to police reports, deliberately were on the run. Procedures have now been initiated to declare them proclaimed.
Addressing the media after the hearing, Aleema Khan, sister of the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, as well as the defense lawyer, was strongly opposed to the video liaison trial, describing it as an illegal, illegal and a violation of the right to a fair trial.
They announced their intention to challenge the notification of the Department of Home of Punjab before the Rawalpindi bench of the High Court of Lahore (LHC). Aleema Khan said the government was trying to isolate Imran Khan by forcing video links.
“This is an attempt to silence it. It should be produced in court; the video liaison procedure cannot be accepted,” she said, arguing that this decision would prevent Imran from consulting his lawyers.
Describing the new notification as a political stage linked to the 26th constitutional amendment, she warned that even if Imran Khan was targeted today, others could face the same treatment tomorrow.
Aleema said that the founder of the PTI had given a message saying that he would not bow under pressure and never accept “slavery”. She quoted Imran as saying that the rule of law and democracy have been strangled.
According to Aleema Khan, Imran warned that the current trajectory in Pakistan looked like that of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. He added that PTI had asked for a dialogue at each stage, but party workers were condemned on what he called false testimonies.
Aleema added that Imran Khan had warned the direction of political complacency and stressed that it was time to play the role of good opposition. Imran urged supporters to demonstrate his strength during the planned party gathering on September 27, she said.
PTI’s legal team, Faisal Mehmood Malik and Hasnain Sanbal, echoed this position, calling for the video link decision “the death of a fair trial”. They told journalists outside the ATC that the Origin of the Department of Origin was Mala Fide and without legal basis.
“A fair trial forces the accused of being physically present in court to consult the lawyer,” they added, confirming that the decision would be challenged before the High Court.
In a related development, the audience of the Toshakhana-II affair against Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, who provided for Adiala prison, was canceled. The defense has been informed of the cancellation and a new date will be fixed at the legal complex.
