The Islamabad High Court issued notices and sought responses to appeals filed by Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha regarding the framing of charges in a barrier-removal case. Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand heard the appeals before a division bench.
Defence lawyers Riasat Ali Azad and Zainab Janjua appeared to contest the inclusion of terrorism provisions and requested a stay of the trial proceedings. Riasat Ali Azad claimed the Anti-Terrorism Court passed its order without jurisdiction and failed to provide the accused with copies of the challan or relevant documents.
The lawyer further argued that the charge should have been read to the accused in their presence, noting that the procedure violated a National Judicial Policy Making Committee decision. Azad stated that the signatures of the accused were missing from the charge because they were not present when the document was signed.
Proceedings had moved from a video link to an in-jail trial during the previous hearing, with the current session scheduled for 2:30 pm. The bench said it would issue an order and inform the parties.
