ATC orders Aleema Khan’s CNIC, passport blocked; bank accounts frozen

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday directed the authorities to block the national identity card (CNIC) of Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, after she repeatedly failed to appear before the court in a November 26 protest case.

ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah issued the directives during the hearing of the case registered at the Sadiqabad police station in connection with the PTI protest, in which a terrorism case was filed against Aleema Khan and several others.

Despite the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants four times, Aleema Khan did not appear before the court.

The judge directed the Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to block Ms Khan’s CNIC and ordered the Director General of Immigration and Passports to block her passport.

The court also instructed the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Jameel Ahmed, to immediately freeze all of her bank accounts.

Additionally, the ATC ordered the confiscation of the property of her guarantor for failing to ensure her appearance in court. The hearing was adjourned until October 27.

Earlier, Rawalpindi police on Thursday refrained from arresting Aleema Khan, even though she complied with the arrest warrant issued against her.

She appeared at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a hearing related to a petition filed by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, requesting a meeting with Imran Khan.

Rawalpindi police also arrived at the IHC to comply with the arrest warrant. She signed the arrest warrant and surrendered to the police for arrest. Surprisingly, the police chose not to arrest her. One police officer responded, “Come back to court tomorrow.”

Speaking to the media outside the IHC, Aleema Khan stated that she was prepared for arrest.

“Someone informed me that my arrest warrant had arrived,” Aleema Khan said. “The police came to arrest me, and I signed the warrant, but they left without taking any further action. We were ready for the arrest, but after getting my signature, they simply walked away.”

In her media interaction, Aleema Khan also expressed concerns about the punishments meted out to PTI’s founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi.