Former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur were among 14 PTI members and leaders indicted on Thursday in a case concerning the attack on the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) during violent protests on May 9, 2023.
Following the arrest of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan on May 9, 2023, from the Islamabad High Court’s premises, riots erupted across the country that went on for at least 24 hours. At least 10 people lost their lives and hundreds sustained injuries, while approximately 40 public buildings and military installations were damaged, including Lahore Corps Commander’s House (Jinnah House) and Askari Tower in Lahore, GHQ in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Office in Faisalabad, FC Fort in Chakdara, Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar, Toll Plaza at Swat Motorway and the Mianwali Air Base.
The state then launched a severe crackdown on his party, rounding up thousands of PTI workers and almost the entire top-tier leadership, with many still facing court proceedings under serious charges.
Other PTI leaders and members indicted today included Senate opposition leader Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Kanwal Shauzab, Latasab Satti, Umar Tanveer Butt, Taimur Masood, Saad Ali Khan, Sikandar Zeb, Zohaib Afridi, Fahad Masood and Raja Nasir Mahfouz.
A total of 113 PTI leaders and supporters have been indicted in this case so far.
CM Gandapur, Afridi and Shauzab filed applications under Section 265-D of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with framing charges against an accused.
A hearing on these applications has been scheduled for tomorrow at the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Adiala Jail. Should Gandapur appear in court tomorrow, his arrest warrant will be cancelled, the judge said.
Gandapur appointed lawyer Ghulam Hasnain Sumbal as his pleader in tomorrow’s hearing and in 12 other cases related to May 9.
Shireen Mazari was indicted along with eight others in the case on Monday. During that hearing, three of the accused — Qureshi, Colonel Ajmal Sabir Raja, and Zeb — refused to sign the charge sheet, saying the evidence against them was insufficient.
Earlier this month, Imran was indicted in the same case by ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah alongside several PTI leaders and supporters.
Imran, who has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023, was arrested by the Rawalpindi police in the May 9 protest case in January this year.
Following today’s hearing, Qureshi spoke to reporters at Adiala Jail, stating that he was being “targeted for political revenge” in the case, reiterating his request to be “heard by the party”.
“I was in Karachi on May 9, not Rawalpindi,” Qureshi told reporters. “I say take mine and the prosecutor’s oaths on May 9 under Section 16 of the ATA (Anti-Terrorism Act).”
Qureshi added that he was due to meet PTI leader Salman Akram Raja at Kot Lakhpat jail on Monday, however, Qureshi was in Rawalpindi and could not make the meeting.
“My point of view is that I should also be heard in the party,” Qureshi said. “There is a tradition of consultation in politics … I am the only member of the PTI who has served at the local, provincial and federal level.”
Speaking about the party’s civil disobedience campaign, the ex-foreign minister suggested to Imran that the movement be “postponed”.
“We formed a negotiation team at the government’s request, now they (the government) need to be serious,” he said.
“This country needs political stability to ensure economic progress and security. The government needs to start negotiating,” Qureshi emphasised.
