SLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court on Monday dismissed the pre-arrest bail petitions of three Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) Members of the National Assembly, including Asif Khan and Sajid Khan Mohammad, in connection with the November 26 D-Chowk protest, after they failed to appear before the court.
Judge Tahir Abbas Supra ruled against the pleas on the grounds that the petitioners had not presented themselves during the hearing.
The cases stem from PTI chairman Imran Khan’s “final call” issued on November 13, urging nationwide demonstrations to be held on November 24 to press for restoration of the party’s electoral mandate, the release of detained leaders and workers, and reversal of the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
Thousands of party supporters converged on Islamabad’s D-Chowk in response, but the government refused to allow negotiations and security forces launched an operation that dispersed the gathering on November 26.
The protests also saw violence on the city’s outskirts. On November 25, Constable Muhammad Mubashir, 46, who had travelled from Muzaffargarh to support Rawalpindi police, was critically injured during clashes at the Jandial checkpoint near Taxila. He was shifted to DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi, where he succumbed to his injuries.
In the aftermath, police registered a series of cases across Rawalpindi district. At Nasirabad Police Station, an FIR was lodged for firing, vandalism and the constable’s murder. Two more cases were filed at New Town Police Station against Khan for rioting, arson and siege.
Another case at Sadiqabad Police Station named him along with his sister Aleema Khan, who is currently on interim bail. Additional FIRs were lodged at Civil Lines, Taxila and Waris Khan police stations.
Altogether, 29 cases were filed in Rawalpindi linked to the protest. Imran Khan was accused in seven, while his wife Bushra Bibi was named in all 29. Bail has so far been granted to 1,383 accused, including senior PTI leaders Ali Amin Gandapur, Azam Swati, Salar Kakar and lawyer Salman Akram Raja.
The arrests had taken place between November 24 and 27, while bail approvals were processed between May and July this year.
Separately, on November 24, police in Punjab registered multiple FIRs against Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, former president Dr. Arif Alvi, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan, and hundreds of PTI leaders and workers.
The cases, invoking various provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, accused the leadership of violent protest and related offences. Khan’s own bail petitions in seven of these cases were filed by his lawyers following his arrest and placement in judicial custody.
