Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, triggered widespread violent protests across the country, during which state buildings and military installations, including the GHQ, were set on fire and vandalized.
Khan was expected to participate in today’s hearing at the ATC via a video link. However, his counsel, Faisal Malik, argued against this arrangement before Judge Amjad Ali Shah, based on the PTI’s application.
Prosecutor Zaheer Shah countered by stating that the trial proceedings were transferred to the ATC from Adiala Jail, where Imran is imprisoned, based on an executive order by the Punjab government. “The authority to review an executive order rests with the constitutional court,” he added.
Shah further argued that the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended in 2016 to permit suspects to appear in court via video link. He also cited Sections 15 and 21 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, stating that they authorize courts to make “decisions regarding trials.” He added that the government was “not obligated” to provide a reason for transferring the trial.
The prosecutor claimed that submitting an application against Imran’s appearance via video link “amounts to creating obstacles in the trial and wasting time.” He said that while the defense lawyer had the right to challenge the trial transfer notification in a superior court, the trial itself could not be halted.
During his arguments, Imran’s lawyer, Faisal Malik, stated, “We demand a fair trial from the court,” adding that a fair trial is contingent upon the physical presence of the accused in the courtroom. He informed the ATC that they had received a copy of the provincial government’s notification only yesterday and would challenge it in a higher court.
The judge then asked Malik if he wished to present any further arguments. In response, the defense counsel requested a short adjournment to consult with his legal team. The court then adjourned the hearing for half an hour.
When the hearing resumed, the testimonies of two prosecution witnesses—Sub-Inspector Saleem Qureshi and Sub-Inspector Manzoor Shahzad—were recorded. The witnesses presented 13 USB drives containing video clips to the court. They testified that 40 videos related to the PTI founder from May 9 were downloaded. They also presented video clips of others, namely Khadim Khokhar, Shehryar Afridi, Umar Tanveer, Sadaqat Abbasi, and Sikandar Mirza, along with clippings from various national newspapers, all of which were saved on the USB drives.
The witnesses stated that the “digital evidence” was acquired from CCTV cameras installed on Benazir Bhutto Road, Mall Road, Liaquat Bagh, and surrounding areas.
Concluding the hearing, the court dismissed the PTI’s plea for Imran’s in-person appearance during the proceedings and maintained that he would appear via video link, in accordance with the Punjab government’s notification. The court summoned 10 more witnesses from various organizations—the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, the Federal Investigation Agency, the PTI, the Press Information Department, Internal Security, and the Interior Ministry—to record their statements at the next hearing, scheduled for September 23.
A police spokesperson had told Dawn yesterday that security would be increased around the Rawalpindi ATC on Friday during the GHQ attack case hearing. Imran was formally charged in the case on December 5 last year. The PTI founder, who has been held in Adiala Jail since August 2023, was arrested by Rawalpindi police in the May 9 protest case in January 2024.
