LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: Another anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has granted police authorization to investigate Imran Khan, the imprisoned Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a case registered against him. The case pertains to allegations of attacking law enforcement personnel and inciting the burning of containers.
The ATC granted approval following a petition from the Gulberg Police of Lahore, seeking to interrogate the PTI chief. Law enforcers argued for probing the PTI chief as he hadn’t yet been part of the investigations.
They also stated that Attock jail currently holds the former prime minister in custody.
Khan, removed from power via a parliamentary vote in April of the previous year, is currently serving a three-year sentence in Attock jail due to his conviction in the Toshakhana case.
Inclusion of Abetting Mutiny in Imran Khan’s May 9 Cases
This development emerged a day after police introduced charges including incitement to mutiny and an attempt to wage war among other provisions in six cases filed against the PTI chairman related to the May 9 riots.
These riots erupted across the country after the deposed prime minister’s arrest on May 9 in connection with the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. The unrest resulted in at least eight deaths and numerous injuries, leading to the arrest of thousands of PTI workers.
During the protests, troublemakers targeted civil and military installations, including Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military labeled May 9 as a “Black Day” and chose to subject the protesters to trial under the Army Act.
The list of charges also involves offenses like 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief), 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups, etc), 153-B (Inducing students, etc, to take part in political activity), 146 (Rioting), 131 (Abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor, or airman from duty), 121 (Waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against Pakistan), 121-A (Conspiracy to commit offenses punishable by Section 121), 120-A (Definition of criminal conspiracy), 120-B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy), and 107 (Abetment of a thing).
As per the police report, these provisions were added on August 18, according to the case diary.
Following the inclusion of these provisions, the police approached an anti-terrorism court (ATC) that granted permission to the law enforcement agency to investigate the PTI chief. He was ousted from office last year in April via a no-confidence motion.
