Pakistan
President Alvi, PTI leaders acquitted in Parliament attack case
ATC acquits President Alvi, PTI leaders in Parliament attack case
Islamabad: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Tuesday acquitted President Dr Arif Alvi and senior leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in the 2014 Parliament House attack case.
According to details, the reserved verdict was announced by Judge Mohammad Ali Warraich.
Top PTI leaders who were acquitted include Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Labour and Culture Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Senator Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry and estranged members Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan, among others.
In 2014, PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) had staged a sit-in in Islamabad, in an attempt to topple the then Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government which continued for 104 days.
During their demonstration, workers of both the parties had marched towards the Parliament House and Prime Minister House, clashing with police at Constitution Avenue. They also attacked the premises of state-owned television.
The police were ordered to thwart their march.
Subsequent clashes between the protesters and law enforcers resulted in the deaths of three PAT workers. Hundreds of others, including both demonstrators and policemen, were wounded.
For inciting violence, the Islamabad police had filed a case against the PTI leadership. The FIR was registered on a complaint by Secretariat SHO Inspector Mehboob Ahmed. In his application, the complainant said that the protesters attacked the government building after snatching weapons from policemen.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first to be acquitted in the case in October 2020.
Earlier, at the onset of the hearing, the president conveyed by his counsel Babar Awan, urged the court to treat him as an “ordinary citizen”, saying he did not want to avail the presidential immunity granted to him under Article 248 of the Constitution.