Judicial complex attack: ATC indicts PTI's Omar Ayub, others in May 9 case

• Punjab Opposition Leader Ahmad Khan Bhachar also indicted.
• Accused refuse to admit the charges levelled against them.
• Case adjourned till Feb 27; witnesses summoned on next hearing.
  

SARGODHA: Legal woes of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders continue to pile up as an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sargodha indicted National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan in a May 9 case related to the attack on the Mianwali's judicial complex.

Those indicted in Judge Muhammad Naeem's court, among others, also include Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar.

With the accused refusing to admit the charges against them, the court adjourned the hearing till February 28 while summoning the witnesses to the next hearing.

As many as 57 people are named in the case along with 150 unknown individuals in the case concerned, the police said in a statement.

The indictment comes weeks after an ATC in Faisalabad issued non-bailable for Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz, and others in a case related to their alleged involvement in the May 9 riots.

The arrest warrants, issued over failure to appear before court in a case registered at Civil Lines Police Station, have also been issued against PTI's Kanwal Shauzab as well as former party leader Fawad Chaudhry.

The latest addition to the NA opposition leader's legal challenges comes as the PTI's leadership, including its founder Imran Khan along with senior leaders such as Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others, remains embroiled in a plethora of legal cases owing to the May 9 incident which saw military installations being vandalised by an angry mob following Khan's arrest in a graft case.

The riots have since been blamed on the PTI by both the then-Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, the caretaker government and the current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration — an allegation vehemently denied by the former ruling party.

In the aftermath of the violent incidents across the country, the individuals involved in the May 9 riots were tried by military courts which handed down stern punishments from two to 10 years to a total of 85 "culprits".

Although 19 convicts have since then been pardoned out of the total 67 who filed mercy petitions, the PTI has announced challenging the military court convictions of its workers and supporters, terming the trials of "civilians in the military courts a blatant violation of justice".

Speaking to the media earlier, Ayub censured the federal and provincial government for "destroying the country" and called for fresh elections in the country.

The opposition leader further complained of the party's legal woes and claimed that the PTI founder's wife, Bushra Bibi, was not being allowed to meet the incarcerated prime minister.

"The delay in our cases is due to the lack of the supremacy of the Constitution in the country," he remarked.

Addressing the martyrdom of security forces personnel and officers in terrorist attacks, the politician further called for the formation of a commission to probe the factors and reasons behind them.