ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in a case pertaining to an attack on Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) during violent protests on May 9, 2023.
Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after his brief arrest that day. The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. The military rejects his allegations.
Several cases against Khan and his party related to the May 9, 2023 violence were registered by the government, which also cracked down on his supporters allegedly involved in the riots. Khan’s party has chosen to distance itself from the protests and accused the country’s intelligence agencies of framing it for the violence. The military denies the accusation.
During a hearing on Saturday, Rawalpindi ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah ordered the city police chief to produce all 25 suspects, including PTI members Gandapur, Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Zain Qureshi, Tahir Sadiq and Taimoor Masood, before the court on December 10.
“A commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of May 9 (2023),” the PTI reiterated on X. “Unjustly imprisoned political detainees should be released!“
CM Gandapur, who heads the government of Khan’s party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has led multiple protests in recent months to demand Khan’s release from prison and to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election.
On Thursday, Khan, along with several others, was indicted on charges of inciting his supporters to attack the GHQ in Rawalpindi last year, his party said.
“Indictment was announced within Adiala prison premises,” the PTI said, referring to the jail in Rawalpindi where Khan has been incarcerated since last year.
Nearly 2,000 people were arrested following the May 9 protests and at least eight were killed. The government had called in the army to help restore order.
Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite several court cases against him, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military.
He has also accused the military of rigging the February 8 election in collusion with the election commission and his political rivals to keep him from returning to power. The military, election commission and Khan’s rivals deny the allegation.
Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case
https://arab.news/2v3sy
Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case
- Khan supporters attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, other military installations on May 9, 2023, following his brief arrest in a land graft case
- His PTI party says a commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of May 9, 2023
Authorities begin action against vehicles without e-tags in Pakistani capital
- Capital administration made e-tags mandatory for all vehicles in Islamabad in Nov.
- Vehicles already equipped with a motorway tag, or m-tag, do not require an e-tag
ISLAMABAD: Authorities have begun action against vehicles plying roads in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad without electronic tags, or e-tags, the Islamabad administration said on Sunday, in a move aimed at streamlining traffic management and improving monitoring at the city’s entry and exit points.
The capital administration made e-tags mandatory for all vehicles in Islamabad in Nov. last year to enhance security in the city. Vehicles already equipped with a motorway tag, or m-tag, do not require an e-tag.
The move is aimed at regulating traffic flow, improving record-keeping, and ensuring that vehicles entering the federal capital are properly registered within the system, according to the officials.
The enforcement relies on e-tag readers installed at entry and check points across the capital, which automatically identify untagged vehicles and allow authorities to take action without manual checks.
“Vehicles without m-tags are being stopped at various checkpoints,” the Islamabad administration said in a statement, citing a top excise official. “Citizens are requested to get the tags installed as soon as possible to avoid legal trouble.”
Readers are fully operational at various check points across the city to identify vehicles without e-tags, according to the statement. Installation of e-tags is also underway at 17 points set up in different areas.
“A total of 166,888 vehicles have so far been successfully issued m-tags,” the statement read.
Last month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also reviewed Islamabad’s monitoring system and said reforms in Safe City project operations and the effective use of technology were the “need of the hour,” according to his ministry.
“Under the Capital Smart City initiative, citizen services such as Rescue 1122, traffic management, security, and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) would be integrated into a centralized system,” Naqvi said.
