In the city of Rawalpindi, on a Monday morning, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, with an order to produce her before the court on October 22 in connection with cases related to the party's protest on November 26 last year. Judge Amjad Ali Shah of the ATC issued the non-bailable arrest warrant for the third time after Aleema failed to appear despite repeated summons.
The development followed the indictment of 10 accused, including Aleema, in the Sadiqabad Police Station case regarding the PTI's November 26 protest. The court indicted Imran's sister along with nine other accused, including Sajid Qureshi, Atif Riaz, Faheem Razaq, Adalat Khan Qureshi, Mursalin Kiani, Tayyab Abbas Shah, Umar Shah Muhammad Hanif, and Ali Raza.
During today's hearing, 10 other accused named in the same case appeared before the court, while five prosecution witnesses also recorded their statements. The Rawalpindi ATC also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Aleema's guarantor, Umer Sharif, and instructed the Pindi deputy commissioner to verify the property documents submitted by her guarantor.
The November 26, 2024 protest aimed to build pressure on the government to release the PTI founder. The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after being booked in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition's no-trust motion in April 2022. The three-day protests of the former ruling party were abruptly ended after fierce clashes erupted between law enforcers and protesters, resulting in the martyrdom of at least three Rangers personnel and a policeman.
