• Sohail Afridi, Junaid Akbar and Ghani Afridi declared absconders-in-process after repeated court absences
• Police say challan will be submitted once proclamation process is completed

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday initiated proclamation proceedings against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, PTI leader Junaid Akbar, and Abdul Ghani Afridi after they repeatedly failed to appear despite the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants in a case linked to the Nov 26 protest.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra took up the case, examining a progress report submitted by the Islamabad police regarding the investigation into a first information report (FIR) registered at Margalla police station over the Nov 26 incidents.

According to the report, submitted through the office of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Islamabad police, the investigation into the case has been completed. A reply was filed in response to the court’s notice seeking an explanation for the delay in the submission of the challan against the accused.

The report stated that the court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi, Junaid Akbar and Abdul Ghani Afridi through its order dated June 23, 2026. However, despite repeated efforts by the police, the warrants could not be executed and the accused failed to appear before the court.

The police informed the court that, in view of the continued non-compliance with the warrants, proclamation proceedings had been initiated against the accused in accordance with the law. It added that once the proclamation process was completed, preparation of the challan under Section 173 (Report of police officer) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) would enter its final stage.

According to the report, the challan would be submitted before the court immediately after completion of the legal formalities relating to the proclamation proceedings.

The investigating agency maintained that there had been no negligence, unnecessary delay or lack of effort on the part of the police during the investigation or in pursuing the arrest of the accused. It asserted that all legal steps required under the law had been taken to secure their appearance before the court.

After examining the report, Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra formally initiated proclamation proceedings against the three accused over their persistent absence despite the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants.

The court subsequently adj­o­u­r­ned further proceedings in the case until September 9, directing that the matter be taken up after completion of the remaining legal process and submission of the challan.

The case stems from a protest held on Nov 26, 2024 that led to the registration of a criminal case at Margalla police station against Mr Afridi and other protesters. Law enforcement authorities had initiated an investigation into the matter, but their repeated failures to submit the challan drew judicial scrutiny.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026