Islamabad, Oct 24 (IANS) An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday ordered the confiscation of the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) and passport of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan after she did not appear before the court in the November 26 PTI protest case despite court’s repeated summons, local media reported.
ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah issued the order while hearing a case pertaining to the FIRs lodged against Aleema Khan and others in connected with the protest held by PTI on November 26 last year, Pakistan’s leading news outlet Geo News reported. The judge’s decision comes two days after the same court issued non-bailable arrested warrant for Aleema Khan for the fourth time after she failed to appear before court for several hearings.
During the hearing on Friday, the court ordered authorities to freeze the bank accounts of Aleema Khan and directed National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Directorate of Immigration and Passports to implement the orders. In addition, the court directed the authorities to confiscate property of Aleema Khan’s guarantor Umar Sharif.
ATC Judge stated that Aleema Khan has remained active publicly but did not attend court proceedings. No lawyer appeared on behalf of Aleema Khan while special prosecutor Zaheer Shah and 10 other accused appeared before the court during the hearing. Subsequently, the ATC adjourned the hearing till October 27.
The case is linked to November 26 protest held last year, when PTI supporters entered Islamabad despite the ban on public gatherings and clashed with law enforcement personnel near D-Chowk. In response, police used teargas to disperse the crowd. The PTI’s three-day protest ended after clashes erupted between security personnel and the protesters. The protest was launched to pressurise the government to release Imran Khan, who has remained in prison since August 2023, after he was booked in several cases, including corruption and terrorism.
–IANS
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