PTI complaint: An Islamabad sessions court dismissed PTI’s private complaint against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and several senior government officials over alleged killings during the November 26, 2024, D-Chowk protest after the complainant repeatedly failed to record a statement or submit supporting evidence.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka dismissed the complaint because PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan repeatedly failed to comply with Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

In a 17-page order, the judge noted that PTI filed the complaint on December 14, 2024, but Gohar did not appear on the filing date. During 16 hearings, Gohar did not record his preliminary statement and requested adjournments on 13 occasions.

The judge said Section 200(2) of the CrPC allows courts to grant adjournments with a minimum penalty of Rs10,000. However, the court granted repeated extensions without imposing any costs.

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At the latest hearing, Advocate Sardar Khurram Latif Khan Khosa requested another adjournment, arguing that senior counsel Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa was on general adjournment. The court rejected the request because the defence failed to submit an approved application confirming the senior lawyer’s absence.

The judge ruled that Gohar ignored several opportunities to record his preliminary statement, leaving the court to examine only the written complaint and supporting documents.

The court also noted that Gohar did not claim to have witnessed the alleged incident. Although the complaint identified Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several provincial ministers as eyewitnesses, none of them appeared before the court or recorded supporting statements.

The judge also highlighted major gaps in the evidence. Although the complaint listed 38 injured individuals, none appeared before the court, and the complainant submitted no medico-legal reports to support the allegations.

The complaint also alleged that 12 PTI workers died during the protest. However, the complainant provided no death certificates, postmortem reports or forensic evidence.

The judge noted that the complainant had earlier informed the court that legal proceedings were underway to obtain postmortem reports and other evidence. Despite waiting nearly 19 months, the complainant failed to produce any of those documents.

The court stressed that anyone making allegations of unlawful killings must support them with forensic and medico-legal evidence to establish the cause of death and determine criminal liability. The judge described forensic medicine as a vital part of Pakistan’s criminal justice system and an essential safeguard for the constitutional right to a fair trial under Article 10-A.

The order also referred to the complaint’s claim that former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, former opposition leader Omar Ayub and former first lady Bushra Bibi were inside a bulletproof container during the alleged attack. The complaint described them as eyewitnesses, but none appeared before the court to support the allegations.

The judge also addressed claims that hospitals refused to issue postmortem reports. He observed that the legal heirs could have sought examinations at other hospitals or requested court approval to exhume the bodies to determine the actual cause of death.

The court concluded that the complainant failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings. Although the complaint included photocopies of newspaper reports, the complainant submitted no video footage, digital evidence or witness list identifying people who allegedly witnessed the incident.

The complaint stemmed from the November 26, 2024, PTI protest in Islamabad, where law enforcement agencies dispersed demonstrators gathered at D-Chowk. PTI later alleged that the crackdown killed at least 12 workers and named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Atta Tarar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and several others in its private complaint.