KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has rejected a plea seeking the constitution of a medical board for the psychiatric treatment of suspect Armaghan Qureshi, who is facing trial in an an attempted murder case.

The application was filed by Armaghan’s mother through defence counsel Khurram Abbas, who requested the court to order a medical board to assess and treat the suspect for psychiatric illness.

However, after hearing arguments from both the defence and prosecution, and reviewing a report submitted by jail authorities, the court dismissed the application.

The court also directed the jail authorities to produce the suspect on Aug 23 for the framing of charges.

Armaghan had been implicated in a case registered last November against an unidentified person for terrorism and attempted murder of a journalist.

According to the FIR, complainant Nadeem Ahmed, a senior reporter at Channel 92, said that on Nov 19, 2024, he was on his way to the office on a motorcycle. As he approached the KDA Scheme area, a Rivo double-cabin vehicle abruptly applied brakes, which led to an argument between him and a man believed to be aged 28 to 29 years.

During the altercation, the suspect allegedly pulled out a weapon and opened fire. As a result, the journalist was wounded. The suspect then fired more shots to spread panic and terror before fleeing the scene.

Following Armaghan’s arrest in the Mustafa murder case, the complainant later identified him as the same individual involved in the shooting.

The case had been registered at Bahadurabad police station under Section 324 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2025