By Ch. Awais Younas Advocate High Court

Until July 18, 2025, the GHQ attack case jail trial  was being heard on day-to-day basis, However, all of a sudden, the proceedings of this case were stopped, and instead, the Toshakhana-II case was conducted for up to 11 hours, even during late-night hearings.

Since the Toshakhana-II case has now been concluded, the May 9 GHQ attack case was resumed in early September. The first hearing took place on September 10 before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi, where Judge Amjad Shah informed that a letter had been received from the Punjab Government, according to which the trial would no longer be held inside the jail, but instead would be conducted in court via video link.

Upon hearing this, our lawyers requested a copy of the letter, stating that they would challenge it in the High Court, as this was an attempt to conduct an illegal trial. Despite these objections, Imran Khan was presented twice via WhatsApp video link, during which neither audio nor visuals were clear. Consequently, Imran Khan and his legal team boycotted the illegal trial.

However, even after the boycott, 18 prosecution witnesses were presented through WhatsApp. We had already challenged the Punjab Government’s notification in the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, on September 23, but it was deliberately not fixed for hearing. Eventually, Latif Khosa had an in-chamber meeting with Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, who informed that the case could not be fixed before September 29.

Then, on the night of September 29, it was learned through television that the Punjab Government had withdrawn its notification, and that the trial would once again be held inside the jail.

It must be remembered that, legally, a trial via video link is permitted only for terrorists or accused persons residing outside the country, and not for anyone else.

During the period of this illegal notification, two hearings were held in the ATC Rawalpindi, during which Imran Khan was presented via WhatsApp, and 18 witnesses were also produced in the same manner. After the withdrawal of the notification, now these witnesses no longer have any legal standing, which we had been asserting since the very first day, that this was an illegal trial so It was proven a month later, when the Punjab Government backed down and withdrew its notification, but at that time no one listened to us, and deliberate delaying tactics were employed.

So far, in the GHQ attack case, the statements of seven witnesses have been recorded. The next hearing was scheduled for October 20, but the judge was on leave. The date was then moved to October 23, now it was revealed that the witness who was to appear was on duty at the Pindi Stadium for a cricket match. Therefore, the hearing has now been postponed to November 5.