Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) legal team to file acquittal pleas in cases registered against party leaders related to attacks on Pakistan Television (PTV) and Parliament House in 2014.
According to PTI’s legal team, the pleas for acquittal of party leaders booked in the cases will be filed on September 11.
According to a private TV channel, the prime minister’s directives came after the PTI leadership decided to file acquittal pleas in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) against the cases registered against party leaders under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) during the 2014 sit-in.
The cases were politically motivated which is why we will request the court to acquit the party leaders, the PTI’s legal team said.
ATC Judge Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi has summoned all accused in the cases on September 11.
The prime minister and other party leaders, including President-elect Dr Arif Alvi, Finance Minister Asad Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, are accused of attacking the Parliament and PTV office during the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad.
The PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leaders were booked after they marched towards the Parliament and PM House during the 2014 sit-in, in an attempt to topple the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government after the Model Town incident. They also clashed with policemen along their way.
Published in Daily Times, September 8th 2018.
