RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for former President Dr Arif Alvi and other prominent figures in connection with cases registered over protests held on Nov 26 last year.

Judge Amjad Shah authorised the warrants, citing the repeated failure of the accused persons to appear before the court.

The warrants name individuals who, according to court documents, have not been arrested despite being nominated in the cases.

Warrants issued for terror charges linked to Nov 26 protests

Those named include Arif Alvi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub, Hammad Azhar, Khalid Khurshid, and Alvi’s son, Wahab Alvi. The former prime minister Imran Khan’s spouse, Bushra Bibi, was also named among others.

The FIRs were registered under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Two cases were registered with the Taxila police station, with one each in the Sadiqabad and Naseerabad police stations.

The former president is nominated in three of the cases, while his son and the other leaders were booked in all four cases.

The court’s order followed a request from special prosecutor Zaheer Shah, who urged action, citing delays in proceedings against the accused.

Judge Shah directed law enforcement agencies to execute the warrants without delay.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025