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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday has ordered Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) to conclude cases pertaining to May 9 violence within four months.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, issued the directions on Tuesday while hearing several pleas moved by the Punjab prosecutor general Punjab to cancel the bails of May 9 suspects or transfer their cases.
The Supreme Court also ordered the ATCs to furnish progress reports on trials to the relevant high courts every fortnight.
Punjab Prosecutor General Zulfikar Abbas Naqvi also submitted a report before the Supreme Court.
It said the violence on May 9 caused a loss of Rs197.4 million. A total of 157 people, including 152 cops, were injured in different cities of Punjab. Four people were killed in the violence.
Police booked 35,962 individuals in 319 FIRs for their alleged involvement in May 9 incidents. Of these, 11,367 were arrested by the police, with 24,595 still at large.
The report further said 307 challans have already been submitted before the relevant courts.
Additional Prosecutor General of Punjab Wajid Gilani said the statements of 28 witnesses have been recorded so far.
During the hearing, Advocate Sameer Khosa, the counsel of Khadija Shah, who was also arrested in connection with May 9 incidents, said a number of cases have been registered against his client. He requested the court to order to protect his client’s fundamental rights.
The CJP asked the counsel to have faith in the ATC and let the case proceed before relevant courts.
The prosecutor general contended the findings of the Lahore High Court, which granted bail to different suspects, was against the law and evidence.
The CJP observed that other cases related to May 9 would be fixed on Monday or Tuesday.
Later, while talking to Dawn, Faisal Chaudhry expressed his surprise over the absence of PTI lawyers during the hearing.
He said he was “amazed” to find the PTI legal team absent as directions issued by the court equally affected PTI leader Imran Khan, who was a co-accused in many cases, including the attack on GHQ.
He said though the apex court’s intention may be based on bonafide, its directions may be misconstrued.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
