Imran Khan's sister Aleema Khan appears before anti-terrorism court in Pak

Islamabad, Nov 20 (PTI) Aleema Khan, the sister of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, on Thursday appeared before an anti-terrorism court after nearly a dozen botched arrest warrants.

Aleema had been summoned by the ATC Rawalpindi in a case related to a protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on November 26, 2024.

The case, registered at Sadiqabad Police Station of the city, includes charges of protesting against the government, chanting anti-government slogans, vandalism, and stone-pelting.

She finally appeared in court after the threat of property seizure following 11 arrest warrants, frozen bank accounts, and an order to block her national identity card and passport.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the court observed that Aleema was legally under arrest as she had ignored all judicial orders. Despite her bail being cancelled, she failed to appear.

Defence counsel Faisal Malik argued that given the number of cases across Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad, it was not always possible for her to attend every hearing. He requested that suitable dates and times be allotted for her appearances.

“There are around 200 cases filed against Aleema Khan, making it impossible to attend all hearings,” Malik said, adding that she often follows up on cases involving her brother, nephews, and sisters.

The lawyer said that Aleema had appeared in court out of respect despite illness and requested that the court consider her health or any other issues for exemption applications.

The court instructed Aleema to attend all future hearings punctually and cautioned her to exercise care in complying with court orders.

Aleema assured the court that she would attend future hearings and requested the defreezing of Namal University, Mianwali’s account.

She also filed a petition for the restoration of all her 15 frozen bank accounts, which was accepted for hearing.

The court also cancelled all 11 outstanding arrest warrants against her.

Additionally, the process to seize her properties in Punjab and Islamabad has been halted. She also challenged the applicability of the terrorism clause, Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), in the case, and the court approved its hearing.

The high-profile hearing lasted over an hour, during which government counsel strongly opposed the cancellation of arrest warrants and the restoration of bank accounts.

The court also requested arguments from both sides at the next hearing regarding two applications filed by her counsel: one challenging the court’s jurisdiction and the other requesting the unfreezing of accounts.

The court has adjourned further hearings until November 26, the upcoming hearing will include testimony from five witnesses. PTI SH  ZH ZH