Anti-terrorism court rejects Imran Khan’s petition to halt May 9 case proceedings

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday rejected former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s petition, requesting for stopping court proceedings in May 9 case linked to the attack on General Headquarters (GHQ), local media reported. ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah heard the case over two pleas filed by Imran Khan, requesting the court to give CCTV footage of the court proceedings on September 19 and halting the proceedings till the High Court’s order on the transfer of jail trial, leading Pakistani daily ‘The News International’ reported. Khan was virtually present during the hearing in the court. During the hearing, PTI founder’s lawyer Faisal Malik stated that they do not want to attend court proceedings without holding consultation with Imran Khan. In response to Imran Khan’s lawyer, the court said, “During the last hearing, you consulted with the PTI founder who [then] boycotted the proceedings.” While requesting the court to give more time to challenge court’s previous order, the lawyer said, “[A] WhatsApp call cannot be considered as [attendance] via a video link.” In response, the court stated, “You can challenge it [however] the court proceedings cannot be stopped.” Prosecutor said that the defence lawyers do not attend court hearing and then request for more time the next day and stressed that their conduct indicates that “they are not serious about the trial,” adding that the defence team was wasting court’s time. In response to prosecutor Zaheer Shah’s argument that raising question over the court’s order amounted to contempt of court, Imran Khan’s lawyer Faisal Malik contended that they were just requesting for a fair trial. He further said, “If the suspect cannot listen to his lawyer and vice versa, how is this a fair trial.”  (IANS)

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