ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 50 PTI leaders, including former president Arif Alvi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, for failing to appear in a case related to protests held on Nov 26 last year.
Judge Abual Hasanat Mohammad Zulqarnain expressed displeasure over the continued non-appearance of the accused despite repeated summons, expanding the list of warrants in a case registered at the Karachi Company Police Station on Nov 26, 2024.
The order added 41 PTI leaders to nine others already facing similar orders.
Among the prominent figures now liable to be arrested are KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur; Senators Shibli Faraz, Azam Khan Swati and Faisal Javed; and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
The list also includes senior lawyers Salman Akram Raja and Shoaib Shaheen; PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hassan; former federal ministers Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar; MNA Omar Ayub Khan; and Aleema Khan, a sister of the party’s jailed founder, Imran Khan.
The development comes a week after a separate anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi issued arrest warrants for Alvi and other prominent figures, including Bushra Bibi, the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in multiple cases connected to the same Nov 26 protests.
Judge Amjad Shah of the Rawalpindi court also cited the repeated failure of the accused to appear before the court.
According to court documents, several individuals named in the cases have not been arrested.
Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2025