ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): A local court has granted major relief to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Information Minister Atta Tarar by dismissing a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the events of November 26.
The petition, filed by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, sought legal action against the Prime Minister and three federal ministers over the November 26 incidents.
The case was heard by Judicial Magistrate Afzal Majoka, who dismissed the petition, providing relief to all four respondents.
According to reports, a heated exchange also took place in the courtroom during the proceedings, where Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Advocate Khurram Latif Khosa were allegedly slapped.
The court’s decision brings the proceedings initiated through the November 26 petition to a close at the trial court level. Further legal action, if any, will depend on the petitioners’ next course of action.
Detailed Judgement
In a detailed 17-page verdict, Judge Afzal Majoka ruled that the basic requirements necessary to initiate proceedings against the prime minister and other respondents had not been established.
The court observed that no action could be taken based on verbal allegations alone in the absence of corroborated evidence. The judgment stated that the complainants had failed to provide sufficient material to substantiate their claims.
According to the verdict, the complaint alleged that 12 people were killed and more than 38 PTI workers were injured by gunfire.
However, despite the passage of considerable time, no post-mortem reports, death certificates or medical reports of the injured were submitted before the court.
Judge Majoka further noted that although several volumes of press clippings were attached to the complaint, no certified digital footage, USB devices or other admissible evidence were produced to support the allegations.
The court also pointed out that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, despite being granted multiple opportunities, did not record the statement of any eyewitness.
The verdict stated that no formal list of witnesses was attached to the private complaint as required under the law.
While the complaint named former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, former Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and several lawmakers as eyewitnesses, none of them appeared before the court to record their statements.
The judgment further observed that even if state institutions or hospitals were allegedly not cooperating, legal avenues were available to the complainants.
The magistrate could have approached the court to seek exhumation of the bodies and determine the actual causes of death through post-mortem examinations.
The court noted that no such legal steps were taken despite the availability of these remedies.
Concluding that the allegations remained unsubstantiated and the legal threshold for proceeding with the case had not been met, the court dismissed the petition against the prime minister and other cabinet members.
