- All accused confess before judge, seeking leniency, saying they are labourers
RAWALPINDI: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi on Friday sentenced 82 PTI workers to a four-month imprisonment and fined them Rs15,000 each in the November 26 violent protest case.
The 82 accused confessed to the crime before the ATC judge and submitted an affidavit, stating that the PTI leadership incited them to protest.
Seeking leniency, the PTI workers apprised the court that they were poor labourers and stated that the local and central leadership of the former ruling party provoked them to stage violent protests.
In a written statement, the accused assured the court that they would not participate in any future protests.
It is pertinent to mention here that during the hearings, out of 1,609 defendants who appeared in court, 560 were indicted.
The PTI announced a march on Islamabad on November 26, 2024, to press the government to release the PTI founder. The party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition’s no-trust motion in April 2022.
The former ruling party’s three-day protests were abruptly ended after fierce clashes erupted between the law enforcers and the protesters, which resulted in the martyrdom of at least three Rangers personnel and a policeman.
