Pakistan: Court orders release of 20 suspects in May 9 riots case

Islamabad [Pakistan]: Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court ordered to release 20 suspects after their names were cleared from the charges issued against them in connection with the May 9 riots case, Dawn reported.

After former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested, protests began to erupt across Pakistan on May 9, with the army accused of orchestrating his detention. While the protests were underway, several properties, including military installations, were vandalised.

Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar, however, approved a 14-day physical remand for 12 other suspects, who had been identified, giving their custody to Sarwar Road police.

In the same case, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf social media activist Ayesha Ali Bhutta has also been granted a three-day physical remand, while another activist named Abdullah Wasim has been released on bail, as per Dawn.

Dawn, a Pakistani English-language newspaper, started in British India in 1941 and now works in Pakistan.

Those discharged in the case are Umar Zahoor, Hameed Ishaq, Mannan Ahmad, Asad Abbas, Ehtesham Ali, Haji Nawab, Shahzar, Jamal Mohammad, Abdul Moeed, Tayyab Khan, Shahzad Ashraf, Danish Bashir, Mohammad Adeel, Haseeb Khalid, Hashaam Sajid, Liaqat Ali, Mansoor Ahmad, Muhammad Naeem and Raheemullah Khan.

Meanwhile, in the Jinnah House attack case, the judge has extended the judicial remand for 80 suspects, according to Dawn.

The judge instructed the police to present these suspects once again on September 2.
Sarwar Road police had registered multiple cases against the PTI leaders and its workers on charges of attacking Jinnah House, which also serves as the residence of Lahore’s corps commander, torching police vehicles and vandalizing public property during the May 9 riots.

The twenty individuals were among a larger group arrested and held in custody due to their involvement in protests that followed the arrest of Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, in a corruption case at the Islamabad High Court on May 9. These protests resulted in the vandalism of various military and civilian installations, Dawn reported.