- Advertisement -
LAHORE, Jan 12 (APP):An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday declared four accused, including fashion designer Khadija Shah, as proclaimed offenders (POs) in the May 9 Askari Tower attack case and issued perpetual arrest warrants against them due to their continuous absence from trial proceedings.
ATC Administrative Judge Manzer Ali Gill conducted the proceedings inside the Kot Lakhpat jail.
During the proceedings, the court took notice of the non-appearance of the accused and was informed that they had repeatedly failed to appear before the court to face trial in the Askari Tower attack case.
The prosecution informed the court that Khadija Shah has gone into hiding after being convicted in another May 9-related case, while the other accused were also avoiding court appearances due to fear of arrest. Despite being granted multiple opportunities to appear, the accused did not comply. They also failed to appear even after arrest warrants had been issued against them.
Consequently, the court declared the accused proclaimed offenders and issued perpetual arrest warrants against Khadija Shah, Hamza Sohail, Usman Aslam, and Ahmed Marsaleen.
In a separate order, the court also declared Zain-ul-Hassan a proclaimed offender and issued non-bailable arrest warrants for his arrest.
The court directed law enforcement agencies to ensure the arrest of the accused and present them before the court to proceed with the trial.