Court acquits PM Khan in parliament attack case
Monitoring Desk:
An Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) on Thursday acquitted prime minister Imran Khan in a parliament house attack case during 2014. Raja Jawad Abbas, the ATC judge announced the verdict about the acquittal of the premier.
The court also decided that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, and Planning Minister Asad Umar — who have been summoned at the next hearing on November 12 — will be indicted.
Provincial ministers Aleem Khan and Shaukat Yousafzai as well as PTI’s former secretary-general Jahangir Tareen have also been summoned at the next hearing. Meanwhile, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) worker Mubashir Ali was also acquitted in the case while the party’s chairman, Tahirul Qadri, was declared a fugitive.
The Premier along with PTI supporters had marched on August 31st in 2014 towards the parliament house and clashed with police deployed at the constitution avenue.
Earlier this week, the premier had urged the court acquit him as the prosecution was no longer interested in pursuing the case. Through his lawyer, Abdullah Babar Awan, the son of Adviser to the PM on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, he had informed the court that the “prosecution stands in favour of [his] acquittal”.
Prosecution lawyers are appointed by and take instructions from the sitting government. The then prosecution team under the PML-N government had fought the Parliament House attack case but with a new team under the PTI government, the situation has changed.
Court acquits PM Khan in parliament attack case
