• ATC declares PTI leaders absconders over absence from court.
• Officials say govt property was damaged during attack.
• Police assert that the attack was planned in advance.

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Islamabad on Monday declared two senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders — Hammad Azhar and Murad Saeed — absconders over continuous absence from court in the case pertaining to the Judicial Complex attack.

Meanwhile, ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain has also issued arrest warrants for Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, Raja Basharat, former state minister Farrukh Habib, and other political leaders who were absent from the hearing.

The case relates to an incident that took place when the former prime minister visited the Judicial Complex in Islamabad to seek bail in multiple cases.

A huge crowd of PTI supporters assembled at the location, dismantled security barriers, vandalised the complex’s entrance gate, and obstructed court proceedings.

In response, Islamabad Police filed a terrorism case against several suspects, citing Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and Section 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The police asserted that the attack was planned in advance, with certain political figures allegedly provoking the crowd.

Multiple individuals were taken into custody, and law enforcement seized an assault rifle along with other weapons from the detainees. Raids were carried out in various provinces to arrest more suspects.

Officials said that government property was damaged during the attack but commended the police for effectively preventing the situation from worsening at the Islamabad High Court.

Besides this, PTI’s leadership is entangled in numerous other cases, resulting in the imprisonment of the party’s founder, Khan — who has been behind bars for over a year — along with other senior leaders.