- ATC declares Zaman Park search warrant ‘ineffective’
LAHORE: The anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore issued a verdict on Tuesday declaring the search warrant for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park “ineffective.”
ATC Judge Abhar Gul Khan, while delivering the reserved verdict on Khan’s plea, stated that one-time search warrants do not have indefinite validity.
Khan had approached the court three days earlier, challenging the search warrants and naming various state officials, including the commissioner of Lahore, DIG operations Lahore, and SSP operations Lahore, as respondents.
In his plea, the PTI chairman alleged that the law enforcement personnel had obtained the warrants with “malicious intent.”
“I respectfully request that the search warrant for my residence in Zaman Park, Lahore, be set aside, cancelled, or recalled as it is illegal, unlawful, and inappropriate, lacking the necessary legal parameters for a valid warrant in the interest of justice and fairness,” Khan stated in his plea.
Khan urged the court to take strict action against the respondents and deal with them severely for their “unlawful and illegal misuse of authority under the pretext of the search warrant.”
The authorities had obtained the search warrants claiming that they intended to apprehend “terrorists” present inside Khan’s residence. However, when they arrived on May 19, Khan refused to allow the search operation to take place.
During the hearing, the judge questioned the commissioner about the reasons behind the law enforcement action at Zaman Park. The commissioner stated that his personnel had gone there to remove encroachments. However, he acknowledged that they had not followed up on the search warrants thus far.
The judge asked the investigating officer if he still required the search warrants. The officer responded that he would consult his colleagues and provide an answer to the court’s question.
Following the arguments presented, the court reserved its verdict on the matter.
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