ISLAMABAD; An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 50 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including former president Dr. Arif Alvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, in connection with the November 26 protest case.
The court issued warrants for 41 PTI leaders after proceedings in case number 1193, registered at the Karachi Company police station in Islamabad. These are in addition to nine arrest warrants already issued, bringing the total to 50.
Among the prominent names listed in the warrants are Dr. Arif Alvi, Abdul Qayyum Niazi, Senator Shibli Faraz, Senator Faisal Javed, legal expert Suleman Akram Raja, PTI spokesperson Rauf Hassan, former minister Murad Saeed, and Ahmad Niazi.
Other leaders named include KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur, former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, former ministers Hammad Azhar, Atif Khan, and Azam Swati, as well as lawyers Shoaib Shaheen and Omar Ayub. Additional names on the list are Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Aleema Khanum (sister of PTI founder), Sheikh Waqas Akram, Kanwal Shauzab, Shandana Gulzar, and Sher Afzal Marwat.
ATC Judge Abul Hasanat Zulqarnain issued the arrest orders due to the repeated absence of the accused from court proceedings. The court has directed law enforcement to immediately apprehend the individuals and present them before the court.
It is important to note that a total of 32 cases related to protests on November 24 and 26, 2022, are currently under investigation in Rawalpindi division. Former first lady Bushra Bibi has also been nominated in a separate case involving the alleged murder of a police constable during the November 26 protest in Taxila.
