ATC orders passports of 24 PTI leaders blocked

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to block the passports of 26 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in connection with a case registered at Kohsar Police Station. ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain issued the order after police sought permission to block the passports of the accused. The investigating officer told the court that the accused could flee the country to evade legal proceedings. Those whose passports would be blocked include Asad Qaiser, Sher Afzal Marwat, Shah Ahmed, Sher Ali Arbab, Iqbal Afridi, Amjad Ali, Junaid Akbar, Shahid Khattak, Zubair Wazir, Omar Ayub, Arshad Umarzai, Zar Alam, Mian Umar, Akhtar Khan, Humayun Khan, Riaz Khan, Abdul Kabir, Tufail Anjum, Asif Mehsud, Ajab Gul, Muhammad Usman, Babar Saleem Swati, Irfan Saleem, Ali Zaman and Malik Shahab. The accused were booked by police over the November 26, 2024 incident during the PTI protest in Islamabad. First information reports (FIRs) were registered at Kohsar and Margalla police stations, carrying various charges related to protest activities and violence. Last week, another ATC judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, maintained the arrest warrants for Chief Minister Afridi, PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar and several other accused after they failed to appear for a hearing in the case related to the November 26 protest. FCC admits plea The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) admitted for hearing a petition challenging the election of Sohail Afridi as chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The court also issued notices to the respondents and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan for assistance on the constitutional questions raised in the case. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan heard the petition filed by disgruntled PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat, who seeks the annulment of Sohail Afridi's election as chief minister and restoration of Ali Amin Gandapur to the office. Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi were also part of the bench. During the hearing, Marwat argued that Gandapur had not voluntarily resigned as chief minister and claimed that he was made to resign on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan, who is serving a sentence. Justice Farooq asked what constitutional point arose in the case. Marwat responded that the Constitution contemplated that a public office holder could resign only voluntarily. He referred to Gandapur's resignation letter, saying that it stated that he was resigning on the instructions of the PTI founder. He further contended that the governor had not accepted Gandapur's resignation.