ATC frames charges against Yasmin Rashid, other PTI leaders in May 9 cases

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore Tuesday framed charges against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhary and Rubina Jameel in the cases pertaining to the May 9 violence.

Upon being indicted, all three accused pleaded not guilty to the alleged offences in two cases at the Sarwar Road police station in Lahore.

The PTI leaders have been behind bars since being booked and arrested in the cases related to the May 9 riots which ensued after party chief Imran Khan's arrest in a graft case.

After the framing of charges, the court summoned the witnesses in the case to record their statements on December 16, while copies of the challan were distributed among the accused during the previous hearing.

It should be noted that the ATC extended Dr Rashid's judicial remand, handing her over to the Punjab Police till November 27 in a case related to the provocative speeches delivered on May 9 against state institutions at Lahore's Sherpao Bridge.

Following the riots and a stream of arrests that followed, Khan was released in the Toshakhana case, but many of his party's leaders, workers and supporters remained behind bars or were being rearrested time and again in multiple cases registered against them.

At present, the PTI chief and his party's Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi are being held in custody in the cipher case, while other leaders remain jailed in cases pertaining to the violence that ensued on May 9 with their trials being conducted across various courts in the country.

The May 9 riots were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister's arrest in the £190 million settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were put behind bars for their involvement in violence and attacks on military installations. Ex-premier Khan was removed from power in April last year via a no-confidence motion.

During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.