LAHORE: A Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court on Friday directed six PTI leaders, including PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, to appear before a joint investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the March 18 Zaman Park clashes that took place be-tween PTI supporters and the Punjab police.
On March 18, as PTI Chairman Imran Khan had left his Zaman Park residence in Lahore to appear before a judge in Islamabad, a heavy contingent of police had launched a search operation at his house, leading to clashes between his party supporters and the police.
Previously, on March 29, a Lahore ATC had cancelled the interim pre-arrest bail of PTI leaders Umar and Farrukh Habib in another case of attacking police parties with petrol bombs and stones outside Zaman Park as they failed to turn up.
Yesterday, the Lahore ATC issued these directives as it heard a plea of PTI leaders Umar, Yasmin Rashid, Zubair Niazi, Hassaan Niazi, Musarrat Cheema and Mian Javed Aslam Iqbal asking for an extension in their interim bail in a case of misbehaving with government officials and causing damage outside Zaman Park. ATC Judge Abher Gul presided over the hearing while Barrister Salman Safdar appeared as the counsel for PTI leaders.
Earlier in the day, the court directed the PTI leaders to record their statements in the JIT and had adjourned the hear-ing till 10am. It directed the leaders to appear before the JIT this afternoon, the court extended their interim bail in the case till April 27.
At the outset of the hearing, JIT chief SSP Imran Kishwar informed the court that only Umar had joined the investiga-tion process and “no one other than him” had done so. The court then directed the suspects to join the investigation today. At this, SSP Kishwar said, “All suspects may come to our office and join the investigation.”
Barrister Safdar then said, “All persons can join the investigation in the court as well.” The court then directed SSP Kishwar to record the suspects’ statements and adjourned the hearing till 10am.
Upon the resumption of the hearing, SSP Kishwar informed the court that all suspects had recorded their statements and that they needed to be questioned in the presence of witnesses. The court then directed the suspects to appear in the JIT at 2:30pm today and extended their interim bail till April 27.
At this point during the hearing, Rashid said, “There are election-related duties. Please give an appropriate date [for the next hearing].” Judge Gul dismissed the plea saying that “election and this has to go hand in hand”.
On March 17, the LHC had allowed Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar to search Imran’s Zaman Park residence for an investigation into attacks on police teams when they had gone there to execute warrants issued by an Islama-bad court for Imran’s arrest in the Toshakhana case.
The next day, the Punjab police had used construction machinery to break into Imran’s Zaman Park residence — while his wife and sister were inside — soon after the PTI chairman left for Islamabad to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case. –Agencies
