ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging the indictment proceedings initiated by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi in the GHQ attack case.
Sardar Abdul Razzaq Khan, Sheikh Rashid's council, contended that there is no substantial evidence to justify the indictment. He argued that out of the 95 witnesses in the case, none have implicated him.
The petition maintained that Sheikh Rashid was neither named in the FIR nor linked to the case initially. His name was allegedly included six months later, clearly to bar him from participating in the February 8 elections. The indictment, the petition claims, is based on the forced statement of co-accused Sadaqat Ali Abbasi under Section 164.
The petition further argued that, as per the law, the statement of one accused cannot be used as evidence against another. It added that Abbasi already retracted his statement.
Sheikh Rashid asserted that he has no connection to the GHQ attack case. and should have been acquitted under Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the court to release an accused if there is insufficient evidence to frame charges.
Alongside the petition, Rashid filed for a stay order and requested an early hearing.