An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad has discharged 32 individuals arrested during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest at D-Chowk.
The suspects were presented for identification before ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain late at night, prompting the judge to express displeasure at the timing.
Defence lawyer Ansar Kiyani argued that police had arrested innocent workers from their homes to meet quotas. The investigating officer requested a 30-day remand for the suspects, citing failure to complete identification procedures since their arrest on November 25.
Judge Zulqarnain ordered the suspects’ handcuffs to be removed in court and discharged them from the cases.
He sternly warned the police against re-arresting them, saying: “If police do this again, I will have them handcuffed.”
The suspects were previously linked to cases filed at I-9 and Margalla police stations.
The former ruling party’s much-hyped protest last month in Islamabad, aimed at securing the PTI founder’s release, had culminated in the party’s hasty retreat after the government’s midnight crackdown on the protesters.
