Court acquits Rana Sanaullah in 2020 PDM protest case

GUJRANWALA: Adviser to Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah has been acquitted from a case registered in October 2020 in relation to a Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally held in Gujranwala.

The politician was accused of allegedly attempting to run over police personnel and removing a container during the rally of the then-grand opposition alliance. The case was filed under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

Judicial Magistrate Sidrah Gill Nawaz, while hearing the case registered at the Satellite Town police station, said that the prosecution failed to prove the accusation.

Last year in December, the judicial magistrate issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the PML-N leader in connection to the case. The arrest warrant against the politician was issued due to his repeated absence.

The first information report (FIR) includes Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) provisions namely Sections 149, 147, 186, 353 and 324.

It is to be noted that various other accused including Salman Khalid Butt, Imran Khalid and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former federal minister Khurram Dastgir have already been acquitted in the case.

Earlier, the challan submitted by the police in relation to Sanaullah was delayed.

The police had also submitted a report, which was rejected by the court which then had summoned Sanaullah.