A session court in Islamabad acquitted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Azadi March case.
Judicial Magistrate Malik Muhammad Imran announced the reserved verdict, acquitting PTI founder Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and AML chief Sheikh Rasheed. The court also ordered the acquittal of Sadaqat Abbasi and Ali Nawaz Awan in connection with the Azadi March case.
Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi, were previously booked by police in various FIRs related to the Azadi March. The police had registered 42 cases against senior PTI leaders and workers following clashes between the police and PTI leaders in the provincial capital.
Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had acquitted Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case. IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the verdict on the pleas challenging their convictions in the cipher case. In January, both the PTI founder and the party’s vice-chairman had been sentenced to 10 years each in prison for the cipher case.
Despite their acquittals, Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi are not expected to be released from prison. Imran Khan faces sentences in the Toshakhana and Iddat cases, while Qureshi has been arrested in connection with the recent May 9 cases.
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