• Court declares four PTI leaders ‘proclaimed offenders’, issues arrest warrants for two others
• IHC adjourns £190m case appeals as counsel seeks meeting with ex-PM
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad antiterrorism court (ATC) on Monday directed authorities to produce PTI founder Imran Khan before it at the next hearing, either physically or via video link, in a case pertaining to the attack on the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) in March 2023.
ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra issued the direction while hearing the case registered against the PTI founder and other party leaders at Islamabad’s Ramna police station.
The court also declared former federal ministers Farrukh Habib, Hammad Azhar and Murad Saeed, and former senator Shibli Faraz, proclaimed offenders after they failed to appear before it.
The judge directed the relevant authorities to submit details of the assets owned by the proclaimed offenders.
The court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Wasiq Qayyum and lawyer Hassan Khan Niazi, who is already incarcerated.
The court adjourned further proceedings until Nov 5.
On March 18, 2023, clashes broke out between police and PTI workers as Mr Khan appeared at the FJC for a hearing in the Toshakhana case.
Hearing adjourned
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) adjourned the hearing of appeals filed by the PTI founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi, against their convictions in the £190m case after Barrister Salman Safdar sought time to meet his client, citing road closures and the prevailing political situation in the federal capital.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif was hearing the appeals.
At the outset, Mr Safdar raised the issue of road closures in Islamabad, saying he had managed to reach the court but senior counsel Latif Khosa could not.
He also expressed reservations about an earlier order concerning the proceedings.
“I have represented the [PTI] founder in 300 cases and I am the counsel in this case. I want to ask just one question: why was I excluded?” he asked.
The chief justice asked him which particular order had aggrieved him.
Mr Safdar replied that the National Accountability Bureau had sought adjournments on 16 occasions. He said an application seeking suspension of Bushra Bibi’s sentence had been filed before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on April 30, while an application for an early hearing was submitted on Sept 17.
He said a petition challenging the IHC’s order had also been filed before the FCC and that the matter was scheduled to be heard there the following week. The counsel argued that if the IHC proceeded with the appeals, the proceedings before the FCC could be rendered ineffective.
Mr Safdar said he had not met Bushra Bibi since December 2025 and that his contact with his client had been severed.
“I do not wish to remain in Islamabad in the current circumstances. Please arrange a meeting for me,” he requested.
The chief justice asked whether an application seeking adjournment had been filed with the court office.
An associate of Mr Khosa informed the bench that the application had been filed that day and that the senior counsel was in Lahore. He also requested arrangements for a meeting between Mr Khosa and the PTI founder.
The bench then adjourned the hearing of the appeals.
Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026
