Pakistan: Anti-terrorism court extends judicial remand of 17 women leaders of Imran Khan's party

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 7 : An anti-terrorism court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of 17 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) women leaders and workers, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The women leaders included PTI's Punjab President Yasmin Rashid and fashion designer Khadija Shah in the Jinnah House attack case.

The Sarwar Road police presented the women suspects before the court. The investigating officer requested the court to give more time to present investigation report (challan) against the suspects. Judge Abher Gul Khan agreed to the request and sent the suspects back to judicial lockup until July 20, according to Dawn.

Sarwar Road police had lodged a case of the attack on Jinnah House, which is also the residence of Lahore's corps commander. Meanwhile, Judge Abher Gul Khan extended the judicial remand of former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema in the Askari Tower attack case, as per the Dawn report.

Gulberg police did not produce Omar Sarfraz Cheema before the court as he was on physical remand with Sarwar Road police in the Jinnah House attack case, Dawn reported. The judge ordered the police to present Cheema on July 20 and submit the challan against him in the tower attack case.

Earlier on May 9, PTI Chairman Imran Khan was arrested from inside the High Court in Islamabad by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the charges of corruption in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust, which he owns alongside his wife, Bushra Bibi. Following Khan's arrest, his party called for demonstrations, which turned violent at many places. The administration resorted to a crackdown and many arrests were made across the country.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Islamabad High Court's July 4 remand to a trial court for the re-examination of the maintainability of the Toshakhana case within a week, Dawn reported.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf filed the petition, requesting the Supreme Court to set aside the IHC directive and also sought a stay on the proceedings before Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ), Islamabad, Hamayun Dilawar, until a decision on his appeal by the Supreme Court.

On October 21, 2022, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p) of the Constitution for making "false statements and incorrect declaration". On May 10 this year, the trial court rejected Imran Khan's challenge to the maintainability of the Toshakhana reference and indicted him in the case, Dawn reported.

The trial court's decision was challenged before the Islamabad High Court, which remanded the case back to the former on July 4 to re-examine the matter in seven days in the light of eight legal questions to decide the maintainability of the reference. The fresh petition, brought by Imran Khan before the apex court on Thursday, said that the Islamabad High Court was not legally justified in remanding the same questions of law that formed the basis of the impugned order for re-determination by the same trial judge who had already given his judgement.

PTI chairman further said that the Islamabad High Court set aside the petitioner's plea by remanding the matter back to the trial court for re-decision despite the petitioner's application for transfer of the complaint from the trial judge to any other court.