The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi has rejected applications filed by the lawyers of PTI Founder Imran Khan in the GHQ gate attack case seeking to halt the proceedings until the high court’s decision on the transfer of the jail trial.
The lawyers sought to obtain the CCTV footage of the September 19 hearing.
Presiding Judge Amjad Ali Shah remarked that court proceedings could not be stopped without clear orders from the high court.
The ATC dismissed multiple applications, including requests to provide CCTV footage of the Sept 19 hearing and to stay proceedings pending the high court’s decision on transferring the trial from jail.
During the hearing, lawyer Salman Akram Raja objected to the practice of presenting a detainee via WhatsApp video call, arguing that it was unconstitutional. Judge Shah responded that such an objection should be challenged in the high court, reiterating that proceedings could not be halted without explicit instructions from there.
On Raja’s request, Imran Khan -- appearing via WhatsApp video call -- was briefly addressed. However, the defense team boycotted the proceedings, citing inaudible and unclear audio.
The public prosecutors argued that the defense was attempting to disrupt and delay the case, wasting the court’s time. Despite the boycott, the court recorded the statements of eight additional prosecution witnesses.
The ATC has now summoned three more prosecution witnesses to testify at the next hearing, scheduled for Sept 27.
