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Thursday March 28, 2024

Court summons prosecution witnesses against PTI leaders in CBC protest case

By our correspondents
January 11, 2018

A court on Wednesday directed the complainant and prosecution witnesses to appear on January 29 in a case pertaining to a protest held at the Cantonment Board Clifton’s (CBC) office in April last year by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and activists, including Dr Arif Alvi.

Dr Alvi and other PTI leaders are on bail in this case. They were indicted in this case on August 28. However, since they had denied the charges and pleaded not guilty, the court decided to hear the evidence of the witnesses.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) is hearing the case and it has ordered the plaintiff in the case and the other prosecution witnesses to show up on January 29 and record their statements.

The Darakhshan police on April 8 had registered an FIR against Alvi and six others who led the protest demonstrations at the CBC office over the locality’s persisting water supply issues. The FIR was registered against three CBC elected members, Mohammed Aslam Khaliq, Mohammed Ahmad and Adeeba Hassan, and four PTI leaders, MNA Dr Arif Alvi, lawmakers Samar Ali Khan, Dr Seema Zia and Khurram Sherzaman.

A CBC official had formally submitted a complaint against them for “deliberately breaking glass door of the [CBC] office and stormed into the building” when they gathered at the board’s office with residents of the locality. The complaint states: “It is submitted that the office of the Cantonment Board Clifton is a public office and remains open for the general public during the office hours on working days. Against the decision of the board regarding water bowers service charges a protest under the leadership of PTI was held on April 6 and 7 outside the CBC.

To keep the premises, office building and record safe the main gates and doors were closed from inside to avoid any untoward incident in case the protesters turn violent.” The official said three elected members of the CBC – Mohammed Aslam Khaliq, Mohammed Ahmad, Adeeba Hassan – along with PTI leaders and protestors entered the CBC office by opening main gate of the office. They forcibly broke glass door of the office building and stormed into the office building, he said.

Defamation case

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Kunwar Naveed Jamil, who is also an MNA, filed a defamation suit against PTI leader Imran Ismail before a civil court. Jamil said that Imran Ismail had leveled false allegations against him that damaged his political reputation and caused a great loss. Jamil approached the Senior Civil Judge concerned and demanded Rs500 million as companion.

He claimed that Imran Ismail had levelled serious allegations against him in order to damage his political reputation. He requested the court to take action and direct the defendant to pay Rs500 million as companion. However, advocate Shujjat Ali Khan, the lawyer for Imran Ismail, said he would prove the claims made by his client against Kunwar Naveed Jamil at the next hearing.