An anti-terrorism court in Lahore has granted permission to transfer custody of 16 suspects involved in the ransacking and vandalism of Jinnah House to a commanding officer. The suspects will be tried under military laws as the government intensifies its efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable for the events of May 9.
Following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, supporters of the party engaged in acts of looting and destruction at government and military facilities. To curb the violence, the government deployed the army and announced its intention to prosecute the protesters under military jurisdiction. A significant number of PTI workers and leaders were subsequently detained in a nationwide crackdown.
In a recent order, ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan approved the request made by a military officer to take custody of the individuals responsible for the vandalism, who are currently held at Camp Jail in Lahore. The individuals implicated in the incident at Corps Commander House, also referred to as Jinnah House, were identified in two distinct cases.
The accused individuals are identified as Amar Zohaib, Ali Iftikhar, Ali Raza, Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Raheem, Zia-ur-Rehman, Waqas Ali, Raees Ahmad, Faisal Irshad, Muhammad Bilal Hussain, Faheem Haider, Arzam Junaid, former PTI MPA Mian Muhammad Akram Usman, Muhammad Hashir Khan, and Hassan Shakir.
According to the court order, taking into account the request put forth by Irfan Athar, a Commanding Officer/Military Officer, and duly endorsed by the prosecution, it has been determined that the case involving the mentioned accused individuals is solely within the jurisdiction of a military court. under the jurisdiction of a military court, the Superintendent of Camp Jail, Lahore, is directed to hand over the custody of the aforementioned accused to the Commanding Officer for further legal proceedings.”
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“The accused have been found guilty of offenses under Sections 3, 7, and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, in conjunction with Section 2(1)(d) and 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, which are exclusively triable by a military court. The Deputy Prosecutor General did not raise any objections to this and forwarded the request for appropriate orders.”
