Court dismisses charges against Rana Sanaullah in PDM rally case

Gujranwala: A judicial magistrate on Wednesday acquitted Rana Sanaullah, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs, from a case filed in October 2020. The case was related to a Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally held in Gujranwala, where Sanaullah was accused of attempting to run over police officers and removing a container during the rally organized by the opposition alliance.

The case was filed during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. Judicial Magistrate Sidrah Gill Nawaz, who heard the case at the Satellite Town police station, said the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to prove the accusations against Sanaullah.

In December of last year, the magistrate had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the PML-N leader after he repeatedly failed to attend court hearings. The charges in the First Information Report (FIR) included various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including 149, 147, 186, 353, and 324.

Other accused individuals, including Salman Khalid Butt, Imran Khalid, and former federal minister Khurram Dastgir, have also been acquitted in the case. The police had delayed submitting the challan (charge sheet) in Sanaullah's case, and their report was rejected by the court, which later summoned the politician.