November 26 case: Charge-sheet against PTI leaders in final stage, court told

ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), while hearing a case registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi, in connection with the November 26 protest, was informed by police on Friday that the charge sheet is in the final stage and would be submitted before it soon.

The ATC judge Tahir Abbas Sipra on June 23 had issued a final notice to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations of Islamabad Police for failing to submit the charge sheet in a case registered against PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, MPA Abdul Ghani Afridi, and others. In its previous order, the judge observed that the DIG, Muhammad Javad Tariq, had prima facie committed disobedience of court orders and directed him to explain why he should not be punished under the relevant provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The court order states that, despite repeated directions, the investigating officer (IO) failed to submit a complete challan (charge sheet), resulting in delays in the proceedings.

According to a report submitted by DIG before the court, proclamation proceedings have been initiated against the suspects. The court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the accused on June 23, it says, adding that despite repeated attempts, non-bailable warrants have not been executed.

The report says that after the failure to execute warrants, the proclamation proceedings of the accused have started as per the law. The preparation of the charge sheet under section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C) is in its final stage, it says, adding that the challan will be submitted before the court as it is completed.

The report submitted by the DIG stated that the police have committed no negligence, delay, or lack of effort at any stage of the investigation of the case proceedings.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026