Islamabad (Web Desk): The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in the federal capital released 78 persons who had been detained during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest at D-Chowk last month.
A total of 283 suspects were produced before Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, with the majority of them facing charges related to the PTI’s high-stakes demonstration.
Personnel of four different police stations presented these suspects, with legal counsel for the detainees, Advocate Ansar Kiana, addressing the court on their behalf.
During the proceeding, Sihala police presented 31 suspects, but their request for an extension of physical remand was denied. Instead, these individuals were sent to jail on judicial remand.
Meanwhile, Aabpara police brought 94 suspects before the court, of which 4 were immediately released, while 90 others were granted a brief, two-day physical remand.
Tarnol police brought in 63 suspects, 57 of whom were discharged, while 6 were remanded.
The Karachi Company police had 95 suspects in total, with 9 being discharged and the rest either remanded or retained by the police for further investigation.
Concerns about the treatment of underage detainees were raised during the hearing, and the judge also addressed an issue where police had rearrested individuals who had already been discharged.
The lawyer representing the suspects informed the court that over 40 of the previously released detainees had been re-arrested by the police on the same day.
In response, Judge Sipra summoned police officers to the court premises and directed them to follow the court’s orders to release the suspects and refrain from making further arrests.
A similar situation occurred earlier when more than 40 PTI workers were detained despite being discharged by the ATC.
The court had rejected the police's plea for a 30-day remand, choosing instead to release the suspects, who had been linked to cases involving vandalism and arson.
Moreover, a separate court in Rawalpindi also discharged 29 PTI workers from a case related to the party’s protest in Taxila.
The events stemmed from the PTI's November 24 protest, a highly charged demonstration meant to demand the release of the party founder.
The protest, which took place in the Red Zone of Islamabad, ended abruptly after government forces launched a midnight crackdown, dispersing the crowd and causing a number of party figures, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, to flee the scene.
In total, over 1,000 PTI supporters were arrested as part of the fallout from this failed protest.
