• ATC directs officer to explain non-compliance over challan submission
• AJK High Court orders ‘provisional’ registration of PTI as political party
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday issued a final notice to the Islamabad DIG (operations) under Section 37 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, observing that prima facie sufficient material was available to proceed against the police officer for failing to comply with court orders regarding submission of the challan in a protest case against PTI leaders and workers.
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra expressed displeasure over the continued non-submission of the challan despite repeated directives and earlier notices issued by the court.
During the hearing, Prosecutor Raja Naveed informed the court that the prosecution had still not received the challan.
Questioning the investigating authorities over the delay, the judge observed that the court had repeatedly sought the report but the police department had failed to comply with its directives. He noted that trial proceedings could not commence because the case record remained incomplete and there was uncertainty regarding the accused persons named in the interim challan.
At one stage of the proceedings, the court verbally announced a punishment of one month’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs100,000 for the DIG for non-compliance with court orders, directing the stenographer to prepare the order in the courtroom.
However, the written order issued later stopped short of imposing punishment and instead issued a final show-cause notice to the DIG. The order noted that Section 37 of the ATA empowers an anti-terrorism court to punish any person who disobeys its orders with rigorous imprisonment of up to six months and a fine.
The order stated that a previous notice had already been issued to the DIG, but he neither appeared before the court nor submitted any written explanation for the delay. The court regretted that repeated directions had been issued to the investigating officer to submit the complete challan, but no meaningful progress had been made.
During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor and newly appointed investigating officer Inspector Zafar Iqbal sought a short adjournment to submit a detailed report as well as the challan. Inspector Iqbal informed the court that he had recently been appointed investigating officer and that the investigation team had been reconstituted. The prosecution assured the court that its directives would now be complied with in letter and spirit.
The court was also informed that accused Sohail Afridi, Junaid Akbar and Abdul Ghani had been placed in Column No. 2 of the interim challan as their arrest was still required.
The court directed the DIG to submit his written reply before the next hearing and adjourned proceedings until July 6.
PTI registration
Meanwhile, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission to “provisionally register” PTI as a political party.
The short order was verbally announced in the open court by senior puisne judge Syed Shahid Bahar. Other members of the bench were Justice Sardar Muhammad Ejaz and Justice Khalid Rasheed Chaudhry. A detailed judgement was likely to be issued on Wednesday.
On May 16, the Election Commission had rejected PTI’s application for registration, citing alleged non-fulfilment of Rule 121 of Election Rules concerning financial affairs and details of accounts provided by the applicant party. Terming the move unconstitutional and undemocratic, PTI leaders had announced challenging it at the appropriate forums.
According to PTI sources, the commission’s decision was assailed in the high court on June 19 through a writ petition, filed on behalf of the party’s regional president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and secretary general Mir Attiqur Rehman.
Tariq Naqash in Muzaffarabad also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026