Pakistan: ATC discharges 32 suspects arrested in PTI protest

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 14 (ANI): An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan's Islamabad on Saturday discharged 32 arrested in relation to the violent protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters in the national capital's D-Chowk, ARY News reported.
The court discharged the arrested suspects due to the lack of evidence. The 32 individuals were arrested on November 25 for the protest of PTI supporters, demanding the release of party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the ARY News, Islamabad police has requested a 30-day remand for the suspects, but the court rejected the plea.
The defendants' lawyer, Anser Kiani told the court that the arrested suspects were innocent labourers who were picked up from their homes and thrown into jail "just to meet the count".
In the November 25 protest, the police arrested several PTI supporters with prominent figures including Imran Khan's Bushra Bibi, Barrister Gohar, Shoaib Shaheen, Ali Bukhari, and Aamir Mughal also facing arrest warrants.
Earlier in the day, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) initiated action against more than 150 individuals, including journalists, vloggers and anchorperson Harmeet Singh for allegedly promoting a false narrative against state institutions, especially the security agencies, over the crackdown conducted on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters in Islamabad on November 26, Dawn reported.
So far, the FIA Cybercrime Wing has arrested more than 20 social media activists in Pakistan for controversial posts about alleged deaths during the crackdown on PTI protesters. Imran Khan's party has claimed that 12 of the PTI supporters were killed by law enforcement agencies during the party's protest at D-Chowk. The federal government has denied the allegations made by PTI.
The arrests were made after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the establishment of a joint task force to track down those responsible for spreading what officials termed "fake news" regarding the protest deaths, according to Dawn report.
Speaking to Dawn, an FIA official said, "The FIA has registered a case against dozens of suspects, including journalists and vloggers, for their involvement in maligning security agencies over the November 26 incident. Harmeet Singh, a Sikh journalist, is also among them."
The PTI protesters marched to Islamabad on November 25, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown, and clashes erupted between the protests and security forces. As the marchers reached closer to the heavily barricaded D-Chowk, the police and security forces reportedly used intense teargas shelling to disperse them, according to Dawn report.
The PTI has slammed Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for his statements and blamed him for the alleged violence against its supporters, claiming multiple deaths.(ANI)