Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered the Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) to wrap up the long-standing cases linked to May 9, 2023 vandalism and decide on the matter with in four months. The court has directed the ATCs to submit progress reports to chief justices of the concerned high courts and administrative judges after every two weeks. The Supreme Court has directed the trial courts to conclude the trial of the accused expeditiously while protecting the rights of both parities.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi and comprising Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, heard the Punjab government's petitions regarding the cancellation of bail for the suspects in the May 9 events.
During the proceedings, one of the suspects' Fawad Chaudhry's lawyer Faisal Fareed Chaudhry questioned how the trial could be completed in four months, saying that there were 35 cases against them, and it would not be possible to complete the trial in such a short time.
At this, the CJP remarked: "There was the case of Mashal Khan's murder in Mardan, at that time I was the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court. The trial of the Mashal Khan murder case was completed in three months and no complaint was received. The anti-terrorism court is capable of performing."
It is worth mentioning that the apex court had directed the trial court during Monday's hearing to make decisions within three months in some of the cases related to the bail cancellation of May 9 suspects.
Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers had been arrested under a government-led crackdown on elements involved in the events that took place on May 9, 2022, which saw military installations being vandalised across the country.
The riots were triggered by the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a graft case. During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including - corps commander house in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
Several PTI leaders and workers were released on bail after their arrests, while many still remain behind the bars.
Meanwhile, the provincial government submitted a report to the Supreme Court regarding the May 9 tragedy.
According to the report, the May 9 incidents caused a loss of Rs197 million rupees in Punjab. The report also states that the total number of suspected individuals involved in the May 9 incidents was 35,962 and 24,595 of them were still at large, while 11,367 had been arrested so far.
A total of 319 cases were registered across 38 districts in Punjab related to the events of May 9.
It highlighted that property damage and vandalism occurred in 38 cities across Punjab on May 9. Property worth Rs110 million was damaged in Lahore, Rs26 million in Rawalpindi and Rs50million in Mianwali.
The report also notes that an attack was carried out on a government institution on May 9.
A lawyer representing the Punjab government clarified that it was not a protest or rally, but rather an attack on an institution on May 9.