An anti-terrorism court on Monday indicted former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a May 9 riots case.
Under heavy guard, Qureshi was transferred from Adiala jail to Kot Lakhpat jail. He faces charges in multiple May 9 instances, including arson, at the Shadman police station.
The PTI leader was called by the court to begin the indictment process against him.
At the next hearing, which is set for July 22, the court has ordered that witnesses be called.
The former foreign minister was charged in eight more instances pertaining to the May 9 violence earlier this year. He is being detained in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Prison on several counts.
In addition to those cases, Qureshi was sentenced to ten years in jail in the cipher case by a special court created under the Official Secrets Act.
But in June, Qureshi’s conviction in the cipher case filed under the Official Secrets Act was overturned by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Following the arrest of the former prime minister Imran Khan in connection with the £190 million settlement case, riots broke out nearly all throughout the nation on May 9. A large number of PTI supporters, including top leaders, were imprisoned last year due to their alleged involvement in acts of violence and attacks against military sites.
The Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi were among the civil and military institutions that the protestors targeted during the demonstrations. The protestors were to be tried under the Army Act after the military dubbed May 9th “Black Day”.
