Overview
- An Anti‑Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi dismissed Aleema Khan’s request to summon 21 named individuals as court witnesses in the November 26 protest case.
- The order, delivered by Judge Amjad Ali Shah, said the defence had already extensively cross‑examined 19 prosecution witnesses and therefore additional summons would repeat the same inquiry.
- Defence counsel Faisal Malik had invoked Section 540 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to ask that the court call ministers and journalists, while special prosecutor Zaheer Shah argued the move was unnecessary and legally untenable.
- The list of proposed court witnesses included Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari and several media editors and bureau chiefs.
- The court announced its decision on Wednesday, keeping the November 26 case registered at Sadiqabad police station on its current trial path and narrowing the defence’s avenues to introduce new witness testimony.