PTI leaders Murad, Hammad declared absconders

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday declared senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Hammad Azhar and Murad Saeed as absconders due to their repeated absence in the Judicial Complex attack case.

ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain also issued arrest warrants for former state minister Farrukh Habib, Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, Raja Basharat, and several other political figures who failed to appear before the court.

The case relates to an incident that took place when the former prime minister visited the Judicial Complex in Islamabad to seek bail in multiple cases.

A huge crowd of PTI supporters assembled at the location, dismantled security barriers, vandalised the complex’s entrance gate, and obstructed court proceedings.

In response, Islamabad Police filed a terrorism case against several suspects, citing Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and Section 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The police asserted that the attack was planned in advance, with certain political figures allegedly provoking the crowd.

Multiple individuals were taken into custody, and law enforcement seized an assault rifle along with other weapons from the detainees. Raids were carried out in various provinces to arrest more suspects.

Officials said that government property was damaged during the attack but commended the police for effectively preventing the situation from worsening at the Islamabad High Court.

Besides this, PTI’s leadership is entangled in numerous other cases, resulting in the imprisonment of the party’s founder, Khan — who has been behind bars for over a year — along with other senior leaders.