Islamabad [Pakistan], June 13 : A session court in Islamabad on Thursday acquitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and senior party leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Azadi March case, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
According to details, the judicial magistrate Malik Muhammad Imran announced the reserved verdict and Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed. The court also ordered the acquittal of Sadaqat Abbasi and Ali Nawaz Awan from the Azadi March case.
Several PTI leaders, including Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others were booked by police in various FIRs related to Azadi March, ARY News reported.
The police had lodged 42 cases against PTI's senior leaders and workers for agitation after clashes broke out between the police and the PTI leader, according to ARY News report.
Imran Khan's march for "Haqeeqi Azadi" (real freedom) on May 25, 2022. Prior to the march, authorities imposed Section 144, a measure used to curb gatherings, Dawn reported. Authorities placed shipping containers on major thoroughfares to block their path.
Undeterred by the moves, the marchers, who tried to walk through the containers to head to Islamabad, were met with tear gas as police tried to disperse them. Police also charged them with batons, according to Dawn report.
Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court acquitted Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in cypher case. IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict on the pleas challenging the conviction in the cypher case.
In January this year, Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years each in prison in a cypher case. However, the PTI leaders are not expected to be released from prison due to Imran Khan's sentences in the Toshakhana and Iddat cases while Qureshi has been arrested in the May 9 cases.
Khan (71), who served as Pakistan's Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023 on multiple charges including the Toshakhana case and Iddat case.
On June 9, an aircraft carrying the message 'Release Imran Khan' was spotted over the stadium during the India versus Pakistan match in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in New York. PTI posted a video of the incident on their X handle, captioned 'Release Imran Khan'.
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