An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has ordered the blocking of the passports of 24 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers in a case registered at Kohsar Police Station.
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ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain issued the order after the police requested that the passports of the accused be blocked, citing concerns that they could leave the country and avoid legal proceedings.
The list includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, along with several other PTI lawmakers.
Those named in the court order include Asad Qaiser, Shehram Khan Tarakai, Junaid Akbar, Shahid Khattak, Omar Ayub and Babar Saleem.
The order also names Zubair Wazir, Shah Ahad, Sher Ali Arbab, Iqbal Afridi, Dr Amjad, Arshad Umarzai, Zar Alam, Mian Umar, Akhtar Khan, Humayun Khan, Riaz Khan, Abdul Kabir Khan and Tufail Anjum.
Asif Mehsud, Ajab Gul, Muhammad Usman, Irfan Saleem, Advocate Ali Zaman and Malik Shehab are also among those whose passports have been ordered blocked.
According to the court order, the available record shows that the accused have been nominated in the case.
The investigation officer told the court that the accused could flee the country to evade legal proceedings, prompting the request for passport blocking.
The court also noted that the accused face serious allegations, including attacks on state institutions and the promotion of terrorism.
The court observed that the accused had not appeared before it. It further noted that those who had obtained interim bail had also allegedly failed to join the investigation.
After considering the police request and the record placed before it, the ATC approved the move to block the passports.
