Defense pushes to merge 13 cases related to May 9th GHQ attack

RAWALPINDI: The hearing of the May 9th GHQ attack case continued today at Adiala Jail, with the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, being presented in the courtroom, ARY News reproted.

During the hearing, the prosecution recorded the statements of three additional witnesses, bringing the total number of recorded statements in the case to 12.

The defense lawyer, Faisal Malik, completed his arguments concerning Imran Khan’s bail application. The prosecution will continue its arguments regarding the bail request in the next hearing.

In another development, the defense lawyers requested that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder’s family members be allowed to attend the trial, a request that was granted.

However, the prosecution raised an objection to allowing Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan’s wife, to attend the GHQ trial. The prosecution argued that she had been convicted in a separate case and had already received a sentence.

According to the prosecution, the law does not allow a convicted person to be present in another trial.

Furthermore, the defense lawyers filed a request to merge all 13 cases related to the May 9th incident.

They argued that all the cases mention the same conspiracy and should therefore be tried under a single charge. The defense requested that all cases related to the May 9th event be consolidated into one trial.

The hearing was adjourned by Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who set the next hearing for January 29th.

Read More: PTI challenges 26th Constitutional Amendment in SC

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had challenged the 26th Constitutional Amendment in Supreme Court, stating that it is unconstitutional, illegal, and unacceptable.

As per details, the PTI’s petition, filed through Advocate Samir Khosa, urged that the amendment be declared null and void.

The petition seeks to restrain the Judicial Commission of Pakistan from making judicial appointments until a decision is made on the petition.

The PTI stated that the amendment violates the basic structure of the Constitution, which cannot be altered by Parliament.

The party also contends that the amendment undermines the independence of the judiciary, which is a fundamental principle of the Constitution.