- Aabpara police produce 90 suspects before court.
- ATC Judge Tahir Sipra conducts hearing of protest case.
- Orders police not to rearrest suspects after being released.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad has discharged 78 more suspects who were arrested during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) “do-or-die” protest at D-Chowk last month.
Officials of four police stations of the federal capital produced a total of 283 suspects before ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on Monday, whereas, advocate Ansar Kiana represented detainees in the court.
After the completion of a two-day physical remand, Sihala police produced 31 suspected protesters and sought an extension. However, the ATC rejected the plea and sent the suspects to jail on judicial remand.
Aabpara police produced 94 suspects before the court and sought their physical remand. The ATC judge handed custody of the 90 accused to police on a two-day physical remand and discharged 4 others in the case.
Meanwhile, officials of Tarnol police station also produced 63 suspects of which the court approved two-day physical remand of six and discharged 57 others from the case.
Subsequently, 95 suspects were produced by Karachi Company police in two separate cases. The court discharged 9 suspects and approved a two-day physical remand of 3 accused in a case related to the PTI’s November 24 protest in Islamabad.
In the second case, the ATC discharged 8 suspects while 75 accused were handed over to the police on a three-day physical remand.
Sipra also sought details from the relevant police officials regarding underage children among the detainees.
At the outset of the hearing, the lawyer representing detainees apprised the ATC that some suspects had been discharged by the court two days ago but police rearrested them.
Judge Sipra directed the police to remove the handcuffs of the suspects and refrain from rearresting them. However, police did not release the accused despite the court orders which led their lawyer to return to the courtroom.
Following the complaint, the ATC judge came out of his courtroom and summoned relevant police officials to the Judicial Complex’s gate.
Sipra then strictly ordered the cops “not to repeat the action [rearresting the accused after release] carried out the day before yesterday”.
Two days ago, more than 40 PTI workers, who were discharged by the Islamabad ATC, were rearrested by police from the court premises.
The PTI workers were arrested by police in connection with a arson and vandalism case related to PTI’s November 24 protest in Islamabad.
Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain had ordered the suspects’ handcuffs to be removed in court and discharged them from the cases, rejecting investigating officer’s plea seeking a 30-day remand for the suspects.
The suspects were previously linked to cases filed at I-9 and Margalla police stations.
Separately, a Rawalpindi ATC had also discharged 29 PTI workers from a case registered at Taxila police station on November 27 over alleged vandalism and arson during the party’s “final call” protest.
The former ruling party’s much-hyped protest last month in Islamabad, aimed at securing the PTI founder’s release, had culminated in the party’s hasty retreat after the government’s midnight crackdown on the protesters.
The party’s protesters were dispersed from the Red Zone in Islamabad following a crackdown by law enforcers with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi taking to their heels, fleeing the protest site.
The law enforcement agencies had arrested more than 1,000 supporters of the party who stormed the federal capital to demand his release, the city’s police chief told Reuters on November 27.
