An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad has discharged 78 additional suspects arrested during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) “do-or-die” protest at D-Chowk last month. The suspects were brought before ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on Monday, with officials from four police stations presenting a total of 283 individuals. Advocate Ansar Kiana represented the detainees during the proceedings.
After completing a two-day physical remand, the Sihala police presented 31 suspects and requested an extension. However, the ATC rejected the request, placing the suspects in judicial remand instead.
The Aabpara police brought in 94 suspects, seeking their physical remand. The court granted a two-day remand for 90 of the suspects but discharged four. Tarnol police also presented 63 suspects, with six remanded for two days, while 57 were discharged.
Additionally, 95 suspects from Karachi Company police were brought in across two cases related to the PTI’s November 24 protest. In the first case, the court discharged 9 suspects and remanded 3 for two days. In the second case, 8 suspects were discharged, and 75 were remanded for three days.
Judge Sipra also directed police officials to provide details about any underage detainees among those arrested.
At the start of the hearing, the lawyer representing the detainees informed the court that some suspects, who had been discharged two days ago, were rearrested by police. Judge Sipra ordered that the suspects’ handcuffs be removed and instructed police not to rearrest them. However, despite the court’s directive, the police did not release the detainees, prompting their lawyer to return to the courtroom with a complaint.
In response, Judge Sipra emerged from his courtroom and summoned the relevant police officials to the Judicial Complex’s gate, sternly ordering them “not to repeat the action [rearresting the accused] that occurred two days ago.”
The previous incident involved the rearrest of over 40 PTI workers who had been discharged by the ATC. These individuals were arrested in connection with an arson and vandalism case linked to PTI’s November 24 protest.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain had earlier ordered the release of these suspects, rejecting the investigating officer’s request for a 30-day remand. The suspects were connected to cases registered at I-9 and Margalla police stations.
In a related matter, a Rawalpindi ATC discharged 29 PTI workers from a case filed at Taxila police station on November 27, related to alleged vandalism and arson during PTI’s “final call” protest.
The PTI’s much-publicized protest last month, aimed at securing the release of its founder, ended with a government crackdown that saw protesters swiftly dispersed from Islamabad’s Red Zone. The protestors, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, fled the scene. Law enforcement agencies arrested over 1,000 PTI supporters who had gathered in the capital to demand Khan’s release.
