Rawalpindi court rejects PTI plea against Imran Khan's video link appearance in GHQ attack trial

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], September 19 (ANI): An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday dismissed a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenging the decision to have party founder Imran Khan appear via video link in the General Headquarters (GHQ) attack case, Dawn reported.

Imran, who has been imprisoned in Adiala Jail since August 2023, was expected to attend the hearing through video link. His arrest on May 9, 2023, had sparked violent protests nationwide, during which state buildings and military installations, including the GHQ, were vandalised.

At the hearing, Imran's counsel argued against the video link arrangement. "We demand fair trial from the court," lawyer Faisal Malik told the judge, adding that "a fair trial was conditional upon the accused being physically present in the court," according to Dawn.

Prosecutor Zaheer Shah opposed the plea, maintaining that the Punjab government's executive order had transferred trial proceedings from Adiala Jail to the ATC. "The authority to review the executive order lies with the constitutional court," he said. Shah argued that amendments made in 2016 to the Code of Criminal Procedure permitted appearances via video link, and cited Sections 15 and 21 of the Anti-Terrorism Act to stress that courts were empowered to decide trial procedures.

He further contended, "Submitting an application against Imran's appearance via video link is tantamount to creating hurdles in the trial and wasting time." Shah said while the defence could approach the superior court against the transfer notification, the proceedings could not be halted.

Imran's lawyer informed the court that they had only received a copy of the provincial government's notification a day earlier and intended to move the higher judiciary against it. The ATC adjourned proceedings briefly after Malik sought time to consult his legal team, Dawn reported.

When the hearing resumed, the testimonies of two prosecution witnesses -- Sub-Inspector Saleem Qureshi and Sub-Inspector Manzoor Shahzad -- were recorded. They presented 13 USB drives containing video clips to the court. "Forty videos of the PTI founder related to May 9 were downloaded," the witnesses said in their statements.

According to the witnesses, the drives also contained video clips of Khadim Khokhar, Shehryar Afridi, Umar Tanveer, Sadaqat Abbasi and Sikandar Mirza, as well as clippings from national newspapers. "Digital evidence was obtained from CCTV cameras installed on Benazir Bhutto Road, Mall Road, Liaquat Bagh and in adjacent areas," they added, as quoted by Dawn.

The court also summoned 10 additional witnesses from 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.

Imran was indicted in the GHQ attack case on December 5 last year. The PTI founder, already incarcerated in connection with other cases, was arrested by Rawalpindi police in January 2024 under the May 9 protest case, Dawn reported. (ANI)

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