A district court in Islamabad, Pakistan, is set to hear a petition on December 23 concerning the alleged killing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters during protests last month demanding the release of the party’s founder, Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
The hearing was scheduled by the district and sessions judge after PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan filed a petition accusing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, senior police officials, and some unidentified individuals of involvement in the killings and disappearances of PTI workers.
Speaking to the media outside the court, Gohar Ali Khan stated that he supports “comprehensive, unconditional negotiations at every stage.”
According to Dawn, the petition accuses authorities of killing 12 PTI workers during the protests. It also claims that 38 individuals were injured by gunfire, while around 139 others have been reported missing. The petition raised concerns over the handling of the protests by Pakistani authorities, noting, “These allegations have raised serious concerns regarding the authorities’ handling of the protest.”
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The court has directed the PTI chairman to appear at the December 23 hearing to provide additional information, Dawn reported.
On Saturday, PTI founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his anguish over the government’s actions against PTI protesters.
In a post on X, he wrote, “Just like the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, neither we nor the people will ever forget the tragedy of the Islamabad Massacre. Even after a hundred years, people still remember the massacre by General Dyer, although there were neither cameras nor media at that time. Evidence of the Islamabad massacre is being collected. This evidence cannot be concealed. Everything will be revealed sooner or later. I have instructed my party and party workers to raise their voices against this atrocity at every level, including Parliament, the judiciary, and international media.”
Khan also announced that December 15 would be observed as a day of mourning and prayer in Pakistan and worldwide to “commemorate the martyrs of the Islamabad Massacre.”
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