14 Suspects in May 9 Riots Granted Arrest Warrants; Pre-Arrest Bail Granted to Imran Khan's Party Leaders

Pakistan court issued arrest warrants for 14 suspects skipping trial in May 9 riots cases. Two former PTI leaders granted pre-arrest bail. PTI founder Imran Khan faces multiple charges, including Official Secrets Act violations, in connection with the violent protests. The suspects in the Jinnah House and Askari Tower cases must appear in court on May 15 or face arrest. PTI leaders Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his wife Musarrat were granted interim bail in seven riot-related cases but must provide sureties. The May 9 riots saw Khan's supporters vandalize military installations, including Jinnah House, Mianwali Airbase, and ISI building.

A Pakistan court here has issued bailable arrest warrants for 14 suspects, who are on bail, for skipping trial proceedings of two cases related to the May 9 riots while granting pre-arrest bail to two former leaders of incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party, a media report said on Saturday.

Khan, the 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party and hundreds of his party colleagues are being tried under multiple cases, including one under the stringent Official Secrets Act in connection with the May 9 violent protests by his supporters that damaged key military installations across Pakistan in 2023.

Judge Arshad Javed of the anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday issued bailable arrest warrants for 14 suspects, who are on bail, for skipping trial proceedings of two cases related to the May 9 riots and ordered the police to ensure the appearance of nine suspects in the Jinnah House attack case, and five others in Askari Tower case, on May 15.

The judge also ordered the suspects to furnish fresh bail bonds before appearing in court, a report in the Dawn newspaper said.

The ATC also granted interim pre-arrest bail to PTI former leaders Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his wife Musarrat Iqbal Cheema in seven more cases on May 9 riots and directed them to join the investigation.

Judge Javed allowed the bail petitions of the couple till May 21, subject to the furnishing of surety bonds worth Rs 1,00,000 each in the cases of attacks on Askari Tower, Shadman police station, party offices of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and others.

The couple had surrendered before the court in February as they had been declared proclaimed offenders in several cases of May 9 riots against them, the Dawn report added.

Khan's party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.

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