RAWALPINDI: The Special Anti-Terrorism Court of Rawalpindi on Thursday recorded the statement of main witness and plaintiff sub-inspector Muhammad Riaz in the GHQ attack case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) former chairman, and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and adjourned the hearing of the case till June 21.
The court issued a show cause notice to SSP Investigation Saba Sattar for not appearing in the case and for not presenting witnesses and property in the case. The court directed the SSP to appear in court on June 11 and explain her behaviour or action will be taken under Section 37 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the matter will be brought to the notice of the Supreme Court.
Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul and several other accused, including Amjad Khan Niazi, Usman Dar and Fawad Chaudhry appeared in the court. JIT convener SP Faisal Saleem and prosecution lawyer Zaheer Shah were also present.
Sub-Inspector Muhammad Riaz took the stand in the testimony that all the evidence received from Pemra and FIA, including DVDs, in the JIT meeting, was shown on a big screen. He stated USBs and DVDs related to the provocative speeches of former chairman, Shehryar Afridi, and the surroundings were seized in his presence.
During the hearing, accused’s lawyers created a ruckus and raised slogans in the court, on which the court expressed strong anger and wrote an order that the accused’s lawyers deliberately tried to stop the court proceedings.
Earlier, the accused’s lawyers kept insisting on calling senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja to the court, saying that if he was not called in, they would boycott the court proceedings.
The prosecution objected to the request and said Salman Akram Raja was not coming to follow up on the case, but wanted to come in to plan a violent protest. “Salman Akram Raja did not assist the court even for a day in this case.
The former chairman announced that he would lead the protest across the country from jail and Salman Akram Raja wanted to come inside the jail to complete and plan the same, while political meetings cannot be held during the court proceedings and Salman Raja wants to consult the former chairman.”
However, due to the protests of the accused’s lawyers, the statements of two prosecution witnesses, Sub-Inspector Saleem Qureshi and Manzoor, could not be recorded, on which the court issued a show cause notice to the accused’s lawyers on the protest.
The show cause notice issued to SSP Investigation Saba Sattar states that the court had issued a written instruction on May 27 to ensure her presence in court on a future date along with witnesses and the property case because the court is hearing the GHQ attack case related to May 9, but “you have neither presented the property case in the form of 2 USBs available with NADRA and FIA, nor presented witnesses, nor appeared yourself, which is a clear violation of court orders and an obstacle to a transparent and prompt trial, although the Supreme Court has already issued orders in this regard.
Therefore, you should appear in court in person on June 11 and explain, otherwise action will not only be taken against you under Section 37 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, but the Supreme Court will be informed of your behavior because your behavior is a violation not only of this court but also of the orders of the Supreme Court”.
