Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed among PTI leaders declared ‘Ishtehari’

An anti-terrorism court has declared several leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) proclaimed offenders (POs) in three cases related to the May 9 riots.

The decision was made by Judge Abher Gul Khan in response to separate applications filed by the investigating officers (IOs) of the cases.

The IOs reported that despite strenuous efforts, the suspects, fearing arrest, had gone into hiding, making their apprehension challenging. Non-bailable arrest warrants had previously been issued against them, but the suspects failed to surrender to the law, prompting the police to request the court to declare them POs.

Those declared POs in two cases of torching police vehicles near Jinnah House and Sher Pao Bridge are Hammad Azhar, Murad Saeed, Farrukh Habib, Azam Swati, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hamid Raza, Karamat Khokhar, Khalid Gujjar, Sajjad Ahmad and Zubair Khan Niazi.

In the third case, which pertains to burning the PML-N office in Model Town, Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his wife Musarrat Cheema, Zubair Khan Niazi, Ghulam Abbas, Farhat Abbas and Hamid Raza had been declared POs.

The judge also directed the IOs to submit details regarding moveable and immovable assets of the suspects so that proceedings for the attachment of their properties under section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) could be started.

It is noteworthy that several of these PTI leaders have already been declared POs in other cases related to the May 9 protests, including the attacks on Jinnah House and Askari Tower.

Hamza Shehbaz wants an exemption

In a separate legal development, an accountability court issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on an application submitted by former chief minister Hamza Shehbaz. Hamza sought permanent exemption from personal appearance in the trial proceedings of the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference.

Appearing before the court with his lawyer, Hamza Shehbaz’s application prompted the court to direct a NAB prosecutor to submit a reply by January 12. The NAB had reopened the reference, initially closed under defunct amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, following a Supreme Court decision that struck down those amendments.

In the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference, NAB alleged that Shehbaz Sharif, then chief minister, and his son Hamza, in abetment and connivance, caused a loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer by misusing their authority. The allegations revolve around the construction of a drain in Chiniot district primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by Hamza and his brother Suleman.