ATC Approves Transfer of 16 Suspects to Military Jurisdiction for May 9 Mayhem

An anti-terrorism court approved the transfer of 16 individuals implicated in the destruction and defacing of Jinnah House to a military officer for trial under military law. This move comes as part of the nation’s stringent measures in response to the chaos that occurred on May 9.

ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan gave the order following a request from a military officer who sought to transfer these individuals currently detained in Camp Jail, Lahore. They were charged in two separate cases related to the assault on the Corps Commander House, also known as Jinnah House.

The accused individuals are;

• Amar Zohaib
• Ali Iftikhar
• Ali Raza
• Muhammad Arsalan
• Muhammad Umair
• Muhammad Raheem
• Zia-ur-Rehman
• Waqas Ali
• Raees Ahmad
• Faisal Irshad
• Muhammad Bilal Hussain
• Faheem Haider
• Arzam Junaid
• Mian Muhammad Akram Usman
• Muhammad Hashir Khan
• Hassan Shakir

Read: Imran Khan Appeals to Supreme Court over ‘Covert Martial Law’ and PTI Crackdown

The court’s order reads: “In consideration of the request from Irfan Athar, the Commanding Officer/Military Officer, as duly presented by the prosecution, since the case of the accused above is specifically triable by a military court, the Superintendent of Camp Jail, Lahore is thus directed to transfer the custody of the said accused to the Commanding Officer for further proceedings as per the law.”

The order further explains that the accused have been found guilty of offenses under Sections 3, 7, and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with Section 2(1)(d) and 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, which are exclusively triable by the Military Court. The DPG did not object to this arrangement, and they forwarded the request for appropriate action.