A Lahore court on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz and ordered the summoning of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan. This action stems from a case linked to an alleged attack on Islamabad police personnel who were deployed outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence.
The case was registered at Lahore’s Race Course police station in 2023 against the former premier and other party leaders, following clashes between PTI supporters and police. The deposed prime minister, who was ousted from power via an opposition no-confidence motion in April 2022, has since faced a multitude of charges ranging from corruption to terrorism. Imran Khan has been incarcerated since August 2023 after being sentenced in various cases.
During today’s hearing at Lahore’s Cantt Kutchery, the court issued a summon order for former prime minister Imran Khan through jail authorities, as he is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. Subsequently, the court adjourned further proceedings until July 30.
Today’s development follows recent anti-terrorism court rulings that handed down prison sentences of up to 10 years to senior PTI leaders in connection with the May 9, 2023, riots. On Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) sentenced several PTI leaders, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, to 10 years in prison each in connection with the May 9 case. The court also awarded sentences to former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and Afzal Azeem Pahat in the same case. However, the court acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hamza Azeem Pahat, Rana Tanveer, and Aizaz Rafiq in the case. On the same day, an ATC in Sargodha also sentenced Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar, MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chattha, and several other PTI workers to 10 years each in prison in a vandalism case related to the May 9 riots.
