The Anti-Terrorism Court has issued bailable arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed in connection with the May 9 riots case.
The court denied her request for exemption from appearance, necessitating her presence for the trial.
In related proceedings, the court also rejected exemption requests from former MNA Rubina Jamil and Ayesha Ali Bhutta but chose not to issue arrest warrants after they appeared in person. The judge cited the accused’s absences as a reason for delays in the trial and ordered that they be presented in jail for the next hearing to expedite the process.
This development follows an appeal by the Punjab government to the Supreme Court, challenging the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision that had previously acquitted Sanam Javed. The Punjab government argued in their plea at the SC’s Lahore Registry that substantial evidence exists to implicate her for her involvement in the riots that took place in Gujranwala on May 9, 2023.
On July 10, an LHC bench consisting of Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural and Justice Ali Zia Bajwa cleared Javed of charges in a case registered by the Gujranwala Cantonment Police. However, the Islamabad High Court had to order her release after a series of arrests and re-arrests, and it also restrained the police from detaining her in any other case until July 16.
