Verdict on Imran’s acquittal in PTV attack case delayed

Tariq Butt

Due to lack of co-ordination among lawyers for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Islamabad could not announce its decision on the acquittal plea of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Parliament building and Pakistan Television (PTV) attack cases.

ATC Judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan had last month reserved the verdict in the case which was supposed to be announced now.

PTI leaders, including President Dr Arif Alvi, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Minister for Planning Asad Umar had withdrawn identical petitions to save the court from taking time to decide so many petitions.

However, when the proceeding was resumed, a court official said dozens of PTI workers were also seeking same relief and it was not possible for the judge to decide the single petition and keep the others pending.

This was due to the fact that the legal team of the PTI did not make any effort for withdrawal of the petitions pending even before Imran Khan applied for the acquittal.

Subsequently, the court observed that the case would be decided after hearing all other applicants.

Further hearing in the petition was adjourned to Dec.12. Police had invoked Anti-Terrorism Act against PTI chief Imran Khan, Arif Alvi, Asad Umar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mehmood, Ejaz Chaudhry and others for inciting violence during the 2014 sit-in.

A lot of violence was committed by the workers of the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek who had camped in the D Chowk to topple the then Nawaz Sharif government.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar clarified on Friday that £190 million, from a settlement between real estate mogul Malik Riaz’s family and the UK government, will be used by the federal government for social welfare.

On Tuesday, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) agreed to a civil settlement with the family of the property tycoon.

The NCA accepted a settlement offer of £190 million, which includes a UK property - 1 Hyde Park Place, London, W2 2LH - valued at approximately £50 million and all of the funds in nine frozen accounts.

In an official statement, the agency stated that the funds would be handed over to Pakistan.

Akbar’s clarification came after questions were raised whether the money from the settlement was going to be used to pay Riaz’s fine, which was imposed on him by the Supreme Court.

In March, the Supreme Court had accepted Bahria Town Karachi’s Rs460 billion offer for the lands it occupies in Malir district of Karachi and restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from filing references against it.

Akbar, via Twitter, reiterated that the government of Pakistan has signed a deed of confidentiality and cannot comment on the intricacies of the case.

However, he added that the government is currently involved in similar matters with other governments and expecting recovery worth millions of dollars.

Akbar at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday had stated that the government encourages agreements in civil cases and does not wish to keep people in jail.

Speaking alongside federal minister Murad Saeed, Akbar maintained that this was the first time in Pakistan’s history that money had been repatriated from another country through the legal process.

“It is important to note that the settlement was reached in a civil case not a criminal case,” he clarified.

“The money has been transferred to the Supreme Court and we have already filed a request before the apex court that the money should be given to us state of Pakistan,” Akbar said.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) became dysfunctional on Friday with the retirement of Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza.

A senior ECP official said many important activities of the poll body, including revision of electoral rolls and scrutiny of political parties’ funds, have come to a complete standstill while conduct of any by-polls and preparations for local government elections will also come to a halt.