Court Orders Passports Blocked for 24 PTI Leaders

News Desk

Islamabad: An Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to block the passports of 24 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in connection with a case related to the violent protest of November 26, 2024.

The order affects several prominent PTI figures, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Omar Ayub and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser.

The November 26 protest was part of PTI’s campaign demanding the release of party founder Imran Khan. Several party leaders and workers were nominated in cases registered in connection with the demonstration.

During the hearing, ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain noted that the accused had been nominated in the case and had failed to appear before the court.

The investigating officer told the court that the accused could leave the country to avoid legal proceedings and requested that their passports be blocked.

The court observed that the accused faced serious allegations, including attacks on state institutions and terrorism-related offences. It also noted that some suspects who had obtained interim bail had not joined the investigation.

The court accepted the request and ordered the FIA to block the passports of the accused until further orders.

Those named in the order include lawmakers Shehram Tarakai, Shah Ahmed, Sher Ali Arbab, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, Dr Amjad Ali, Junaid Akbar, Shahid Khattak and Zubair Wazir.

The list also includes Arshad Umarzai, Zar Alam, Mian Umar, Akhtar Khan, Humayun Khan, Riaz Khan, Abdul Kabir Khan, Tufail Anjum, Asif Mehsud, Ajab Gul, Muhammad Usman, Babar Saleem Swati, Irfan Saleem, Advocate Ali Zaman and Malik Shahab.

The latest court order imposes an additional legal restriction on the PTI leaders as proceedings related to the November 26 protest continue.