In a major development related to the Jinnah House arson case, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Wednesday held 30 suspects absconding.
The case relates to the alleged attack on the historic house of the Corps Commander, originally known as Jinnah House, which served as the residence of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The attack, believed to have been orchestrated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters, took place hours after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested PTI founder Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case on May 9 the previous year. .
Among the accused who have been declared absconders are Tahira Yasmeen, Asma Mumtaz, Rizwana Ghazanfar, Hayat Sikander, Waqas Ahmed Mohsin, Owais Khan, Amjad Parvez Abbasi, Raja Shah Nawaz, Tanzeela Imran Khan, Shunila Ruth, Zahid Lodhi, Malik Tai and next.
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The police filed a request to declare the accused as fugitives on the grounds that they did not turn up despite the publication of advertisements. The investigating officer informed the court that the defendant was in hiding for fear of arrest.
Justice Muhammad Naveed Iqbal of the Anti-Terrorism Court accepted the police’s request and officially declared the 30 accused fugitives.
