RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s plea seeking a halt of court proceedings in the May 9 case involving attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ).
ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah conducted the hearing Tuesday over two petitions filed by Khan, urging the court to provide the CCTV footage of the court proceedings of September 19 and stopping the proceedings till the high court’s order on the transfer of the jail trial.
During the hearing, where Khan was presented virtually before the court via WhatsApp link, the PTI founder’s lawyer Faisal Malik contended that they did not want to become part of the case proceedings sans consultation with the former prime minister. To this, the court said: “During the last hearing, you consulted with the PTI founder who [then] boycotted the proceedings”.
When advised by the court to challenge the WhatsApp communication in the high court, counsel Malik said that they had already done so. “[A] WhatsApp call cannot be considered as [attendance] via a video link,” the lawyer said while requesting the court for more time to challenge the court’s previous order.
“You can challenge it [however] the court proceedings cannot be stopped,” the court responded. Highlighting that the defence lawyers boycotted the previous hearing, prosecutor Ikram Amin said that the prosecution was not obligated to answer any of their queries. “The defence lawyers boycott court hearing and then ask for more time the next day. Their conduct shows that they are not serious about the trial,” the prosecutor said, adding that the defence team was wasting the court’s time.
Responding to prosecutor Zaheer Shah’s argument that questioning the court’s order amounted to contempt of court, lawyer Malik said that they were merely seeking a fair trial. “If the suspect cannot listen to his lawyer and vice versa, how is this a fair trial,” the defence lawyer contended.
On the defence team’s request for the CCTV footage, prosecutor Zaheer said that as per the Lahore High Court (LHC) directives, neither any footage nor a transcript can be provided to anyone. At this, Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja said that the court does not operate on government instructions but works as per the Constitution.
“It is not possible to present a person locked in a cell on WhatsApp,” Raja stressed, to which the court said that they have the right to challenge the court order. After hearing both sides’ arguments, the court rejected the petitions filed by the former PM. With a total of 41 witnesses recording their statements in the case, the court also adjourned the hearing until September 27. The development follows ATC’s last week’s decision of rejecting Khan’s plea for in-person appearance in the case after the Punjab government cancelled the jail trial of all May 9 cases, including the GHQ attack case.
