Court withdraws arrest warrants for Marriyum Aurangzeb

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court withdrew the non-bailable arrest warrants for former information minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday, following her appearance in court regarding a terror case filed against her in 2022.

The ATC had issued the non-bailable arrest warrants for Aurangzeb on November 25 due to her repeated absence from hearings in the case. 

The case was registered against her and former federal minister Mian Javed Latif in Lahore on September 19, 2022, for allegedly using religion to instill and spread hatred against PTI chief Imran Khan.

PTI’s Parvez Elahi was the chief minister at the time. The case was lodged by a citizen and an imam of a local mosque at Green Town Police Station in the provincial capital.

In the FIR, the complainant had mentioned coming across a press conference of PMLN’s Mian Javed Latif on September 14, in which he had made disturbing accusations against Imran in the name of religion.

Pakistan Television’s managing director and controller of the programme were also nominated in the case. The complaint stated that the press conference was shown on national television.

On Saturday, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Mian Javed Latif, accompanied by their legal team, appeared before the court.

The hearing was presided over by ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan.

The court directed the authorities to furnish a copy of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) order regarding the plea of nominated suspects in the case.

In response to Aurangzeb’s plea for acquittal in the case, the court instructed both the prosecutor and the defendant counsel to present their arguments during the upcoming hearing.

The court subsequently adjourned the proceedings until January 6. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Marriyum Aurangzeb said that former premier Imran Khan had lodged fabricated and baseless cases against her and other opposing politicians. She said that the incarcerated PTI leader must now respond to allegations of corruption in the Al-Qadir Trust case.