ISLAMABAD: The District and Sessions Court of Islamabad on Wednesday acquitted 10 journalists and officers of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) in a case linked to alleged mistreatment during APP Employees Union Election.

The civil judge and judicial magistrate, Ayesha Kundi, announced the acquittal of all 10 APP journalists and staff members, noting that the case file contained no material, testimony, or recovery that could support the accusations.

The hearing resumed on Wednesday with the court informed that the lawyer of the complainant, a journalist working in the news agency, had not appeared. The judge expressed concern over repeated absences, stating that the complainant or his counsel had not been attending proceedings.

The court adjourned the session until 11:30am to allow completion of arguments on the acquittal plea. When the hearing resumed after the break, the complainant’s lawyer again failed to appear.

The court was informed that the lawyer engaged elsewhere. The judge remarked that this was an unusual case where the complainant and his lawyer were consistently absent while the 10 accused individuals had been present since morning. She observed that such delays were unfair to the accused and amounted to punishing them without trial.

During the hearing, defence counsel Rana Rohail, advocate, representing the accused persons, read out the FIR registered at the Aabpara police station.

The judge questioned the wording in the FIR, asking what was meant by the term “unrelated outlaws” The lawyer responded that all accused were journalists and government officers. He argued that the case against the APP staff was filed with ill intent.

The public prosecutor told the court that the investigation report made it clear that there was no recovery, no evidence, and no witness statement to support the complaint. He added that there was no proof of possession of weapons by the accused.

The judge ruled that the accused persons were acquitted because the FIR was baseless and had resulted in unnecessary delays.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2025