Muhammad Faizan Aslam Khan: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court has ordered the blocking of passports of 24 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in a case registered at Kohsar Police Station.
ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain issued the order after police requested that the passports of the accused be blocked, citing concerns that they could leave the country to avoid legal proceedings.
The court said the available record showed that the PTI lawmakers had been nominated as accused in the case and were facing serious allegations related to attacks on state institutions and promotion of terrorism.
The accused named in the order include Sohail Afridi, Asad Qaiser, Sheram Tarkai, Shahid Khatak, Sher Ali Arbab, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, Dr Amjad Ali, Junaid Akbar, Zubair Wazir, Umar Ayub, Arshad Umarzai, Zar Alam, Mian Umar, Akhtar Khan, Humayun Khan, Riaz Khan, Abdul Kabir Khan, Tufail Anjum, Asif Mehsud, Ajab Gul, Muhammad Usman, Babar Saleem Swati, Irfan Saleem and Advocate Ali Zaman, among others.
The court observed that several accused had failed to appear before it, while those who had obtained interim bail had also not joined the investigation.
Accepting the investigating officer’s request, the court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to block the passports of the accused until further orders.
The decision was issued in connection with the case registered at Kohsar Police Station.
