Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court on Saturday ordered the release of 38 people arrested in connection with last month’s protests led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party.
On November 26, police arrested hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters who took part in protests that included marches and planned sit-ins in the capital, Islamabad.
PTI founder Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on November 13, calling for the restoration of PTI electoral rights, the release of detained party members and the strengthening of the “dictatorship”. He called for the repeal of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. .
PTI supporters arrived in the capital on November 27 after clearing roadblocks, but police launched a nighttime operation forcing them to flee, killing more than 1,400 people in Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi. was arrested.
Judge Abul Hasnat Mohammad Zulkarnain presided over the hearing on Saturday for 56 suspects who appeared in court after the identification parade, Dawn newspaper reported.
Police had asked for the suspects to be detained for 20 days, but defense lawyer Ansar Kayani objected, saying police had arrested the suspects from their homes before the protests.
“They don’t want to recover anything from the suspect. The police just filled in the numbers yet,” Kayani said.
The judge rejected the police’s request and sent 50 people to judicial seizure, releasing the remaining six after removing their handcuffs and ordering police not to arrest them again.
Separately, Geo News reported that Judge Zulkernain presided over a late-night hearing against 32 people who were arrested during the PTI protests and whose identity documents were produced in court.
Investigators asked for a 30-day remand of the suspects, but Kiyani argued that police arrested innocent workers from their homes to meet quotas.
Judge Zulkarnain ordered in court that the suspect’s handcuffs be removed and he be released from the case. He issued a stern warning to police not to arrest him again, saying: “If they do something like this again, I will handcuff them.” PTI’s highly publicized protests aimed at securing Khan’s release culminated in the party’s hasty retreat following a late-night crackdown on protesters by the government.
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