ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday suspended the arrest warrant issued for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, in a case related to an attack on the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC).
ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, who is presiding over the case that also involved PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan, suspended the arrest warrant after Qasier appeared before the court with his lawyer, Ayesha Khalid. The case was registered at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), naming several other PIT leaders, including Khan.
The other PTI leaders nominated in the case includes Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Shibli Faraz, Hammad Azhar, Ali Amin Gandapur, Ali Nawaz Awan (former PTI member), Murad Saeed, Hassaan Khan Niazi, Omer Ayub Khan, Amjad Khan Niazi, Khurram Nawaz, Jamshed Mughal, AamirKiyani, Farrukh Habib, Dr Shehzad Waseem, and Umer Sultan, among former minister Asad Umar.
The PTI leader, while talking to reporters after the hearing, said that following the 26th constitutional amendment, the kind of pressure and control being exerted on the judiciary has left little room for hope, but we will continue our struggle.
The former National Assembly speaker urged lawyers to continue their struggle for judicial independence. He made a direct appeal to the legal fraternity ahead of the upcoming bar elections, asking them to support candidates who oppose the 26th Amendment.
Regarding the possibility of a 27th Amendment, he said that so far has no information about the 27th amendment, but let’s not forget how the 26th was handled. Even then-Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar did not know the actual draft of the amendment — he was merely used like a rubber stamp, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025