Rawalpindi, December 5, 2024 — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and 59 others were formally indicted on Thursday in the May 9 General Headquarters (GHQ) attack case after four prior delays.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi framed charges against 60 individuals, including prominent figures such as Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Raja Basharat, and Zartaj Gul. Following the indictment, former Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, were arrested outside Adiala Jail.
A day earlier, ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah had rejected Omar Ayub’s plea for acquittal. Special Public Prosecutor Zaheer Shah argued that acquittal requests from other accused, including Sheikh Rashid, Shireen Mazari, Amjad Niazi, and Omar Tanveer Butt, had also been dismissed.
The prosecutor noted that Omar Ayub’s involvement was supported by confessional statements from co-accused Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi and Omar Tanveer Butt. The court ruled that acquittals could not be granted at this stage, as the magistrate who recorded the confessions had yet to testify.
Additionally, the prosecutor highlighted that some acquittal decisions in related cases were currently being challenged in the Sargodha ATC.
