PTI chief appears before ATC in 2014 PTV attack case
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is appearing before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for a hearing regarding an attack on Pakistan Television (PTV) headquarters in 2014, DawnNews reported on Tuesday.
Khan, who is one of the accused in the case, is expected to file an appeal for a bail in the ATC. He was granted an interim bail in the case in December last year; however, his request for the case to be transferred to a civil court was turned down by the court.
Earlier in the morning when the hearing commenced, Khan's lawyer Babar Awan had not appeared before the court due to his engagements in the Supreme Court. His assistant lawyer, Shahid Gondal, had appeared on his behalf.
ATC judge Shahrukh Arjumand had adjourned the hearing until 12pm.
In 2014, Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek Chairman Tahirul Qadri staged a major rally in Islamabad against alleged rigging in the 2013 election and the Model Town tragedy, which had seen as many as 14 people killed and 100 others injured when police attacked Qadri's residence during an 'anti-encroachment' operation.
Khan had threatened to shut down the entire country in what was perceived as a bid to topple the government. The protest had continued for a record 104 days.
On Sept 1, 2014, while the sit-in was still ongoing, Senior Superintendent of Police Asmatullah Junejo had been beaten up by protesters on Constitution Avenue as they stormed the PTV headquarters and the precincts of the Parliament.
A case had been registered against Khan, Qadri, and others for torturing SSP Junejo and five other police officers. Both leaders had been declared proclaimed offenders and arrest warrants were issued against them.
The ATC had declared Khan a proclaimed offender and issued non-bailable warrants for his arrest in November 2015.
In November 2017, the PTI chief had finally surrendered before the ATC in four cases regarding the 2014 sit-ins after the court ordered confiscation of his movable and immovable assets.
After the surrender, the court had withdrawn his arrest warrants and granted pre-arrest interim bail to the PTI chief.