President Arif Alvi has appeared before an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad, in a first, on Friday in the 2014 Pakistan Television and Parliament House attack case, refusing to avail immunity.
The president appeared alongside his lawyer, Babar Awan, while judge Muhammad Ali Warraich heard the case.
During the hearing, Alvi said that he would not be availing immunity, saying that Islam did not allow pardons. He said that he made the decision to appear in court when he learnt that it was about to give its verdict in the case. The president appealed that all cases pending in the court be expedited to ensure that swift justice was delivered.
The court reserved its decision in the case in the previous month and is set to announce the verdict on March 9.
In August 2014, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek held a sit-in in Islamabad that went on for 104 days till December that year. Workers from both parties marched at the Parliament House and Prime Minister House, clashing with police at Constitution Avenue. The PTV building was also on the receiving end of an assault by protestors.
The case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act against PTI Chairman Imran Khan and other leaders which included Arif Alvi, Asad Umar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mehmood and Raja Khurram Nawaz for inciting violence. Three people were killed, 26 were injured while 60 people were arrested.
