— Waqas Akram slams govt for unlawful solitary confinement of PTI founder
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sheikh Waqas Akram on Monday stated that the party’s legal team had exposed the reality behind the orchestrated and utterly absurd May 9 false flag operation, documenting the gaps and inaccuracies in the prosecution’s case exceptionally well.
The party expressed hope that the court would uphold justice and acquit all falsely implicated PTI leaders without delay, he said and added that the conspiracy charges linked to the politically motivated and baseless May 9 false flag operation have been completely demolished and buried during the cross-examination of two prosecution witnesses, Hassam and Khalid. He declared that these individuals should have been declared innocent by the investigation long ago, yet they continue to face trial more than two years later.
He stated that the first of the fourteen ongoing May 9 trials at Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, was nearing completion, as the case progressed rapidly with daily hearings. Waqas said that PTI’s legal team conducted a masterful cross-examination of key witnesses and both investigating officers, thoroughly exposing flaws and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s narrative and placing all gaps on the court record.
The trial, ongoing since late last year, involved 14 accused, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfaraz Cheema, Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and nine other workers and bystanders. Waqas noted that proceedings against other individuals, including PTI Patron-in-Chief Imran Khan and several senior party leaders, have not yet commenced in this case.
PTI CIS emphasized that PTI lawyers’ cross examination of the main prosecution witnesses of the conspiracy meeting at Zaman Park has effectively demolished the entire ‘conspiracy’ charge, exposing glaring legal flaws in the baseless cases.
Waqas hailed that the legal team had done justice to its work and exposed the case now in its entirety, and the responsibility to uphold justice squarely lies with the court. He noted that interestingly, when the main witness, who claimed to be present in disguise at the alleged conspiracy meeting, was confronted with the daily register of his Police Station, it showed that the witness (a policeman) was marked absent from duty that day.
Waqas stated that the man wasn’t even on duty and was the prosecution’s key witness against the leadership in more than two dozen cases in Punjab.
PTI CIS stated that the prosecution failed to explain how sticks were recovered after 30 days from a daily-cleaned cantonment area and the doctor testified in court that the injured policemen were not medically examined on May 9.
He said that they were unable to show any authorization for surveillance of a former PM’s house/drawing room or authorization of their duty there, as the IOs did not produce any other evidence to substantiate the statements made by these two prosecution witnesses.
The PTI leader voiced serious concern over Dr. Yasmin Rashid’s premature return to Kot Lakhpat Jail despite her poor health in order to ensure her presence for a court verdict. He stated that the trial was being rushed through daily hearings to reduce another PTI senator, Ejaz Chaudhry, whose production orders haven’t been implemented in two years. Waqas noted that Shah Mahmood Qureshi, acquitted in the Cypher case, has been falsely implicated despite being in Karachi with his ailing wife during the May 9 events.
He added that PTI’s NA-123 candidate, Advocate Afzaal Azeem Pahat, was being politically targeted for challenging Shahbaz Sharif, and was among 14 people on trial alongside his son and brother. Waqas further condemned the unjust implication of Omer Sarfraz Cheema and Mehmood ur Rasheed in multiple Lahore cases merely because they were already held at Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Whereas, he said that several people, who were nominated in the FIR, were not tried because they did Press Conferences and changed political allegiance after 9 May.
PTI CIS revealed that two other innocent lawyers were also being tried, including one whose CDR confirmed he was outside Lahore that day, yet was not cleared during the investigation.
He expressed optimism that they still hope that the current tide of injustice and political victimization would stop and the court would do justice based on the very clear gaps, malicious and selective prosecution and mistakes established during the trial proceedings.
PTI CIS strongly condemned the imposed regime for keeping PTI founder in solitary confinement under fake and politically motivated cases. Waqas stated that Khan has been imprisoned for two years without receiving even the basic rights granted to ordinary prisoners, including access to a fair trial, television, newspapers, or writing materials.
He revealed that both Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are being held in extremely harsh conditions, with all facilities withdrawn, as even his sons and other family members have been denied visitation rights, in blatant violation of court orders.
PTI CIS demanded the immediate release of Imran Khan, other party leadership and workers imprisoned in fabricated and absurd cases immediately. He vowed that PTI would not compromise and would continue their struggle for judicial independence, supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and true freedom.
