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RAWALPINDI, Dec 01 (APP):The Special Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1 Rawalpindi on Monday dismissed an application filed by Aleema Khan, sister of PTI founder, challenging case jurisdiction in the case related to November protest.
Judge Amjad Ali Shah, after hearing detailed arguments from both sides, rejected Aleema Khanum’s contention that the case did not fall under the Anti-Terrorism Act and therefore could not be tried in the ATC.
In the case of which the FIR No. 3393 registered at Police Station Sadiqabad in November 2024, Aleema Khan is accused of relaying a message from the PTI founder (from Adiala Jail) calling for nationwide protests. The prosecution alleged the subsequent protest at Faizabad turned violent.
During Monday hearing, Prosecutor Zaheer Shah informed the court that police officials were injured, firing took place, and two bullets struck a police van during the clash. He argued that the violence clearly attracted provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Defence counsel Faisal Malik maintained that no violent incident occurred during the protest and the case should therefore be heard in the ATC. He further argued that Article 6 of the ATC was not applicable and no terror-related clauses were mentioned in the FIR.
The prosecutor strongly opposed the plea, saying that 12 co-accused in the same case had already confessed and guilty, and been convicted by the same ATC without any objection from the defence at that time. When others were punished, no one challenged the jurisdiction, he said.
He went on saying that as now, when it has reached Aleema Khan, the same counsel suddenly remembers that the ATC has no jurisdiction. He emphasized that the matter is not true person specific but the case specific.
He accused the defence of repeatedly using delaying tactics and wasting the court’s time.
After completing arguments, when the court was about to announce its order, the defense lawyer requested postponement saying that an ongoing lawyers’ strike was in process. The prosecutor again objected, saying dates and timings had always been fixed as per the convenience of the defence counsel. However, the court adjourned the matter and fixed 04 December as the next date of hearing.
In a separate but related development, Judge Amjad Ali Shah ordered the de-freezing of bank accounts belonging to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Hospital and Namal University.
The accounts had been frozen after Aleema Khan’s own accounts were blocked by the State Bank on the request of the prosecution. It later emerged that she is a member of the Board of Governors/Trustees of both institutions, causing their accounts to be inadvertently frozen.
The prosecutor clarified that the state had no intention of targeting charitable and educational institutions and had no objection to restoration of their accounts. The court accordingly ordered both accounts to be de-freezed.
The court also turned down the prosecution’s request to record prosecution witnesses due to the lawyers’ strike and adjourned the hearing until December 04.