Islamabad, April 8 (HS) : The Supreme Court of Pakistan has instructed the trial court to conclude and deliver verdicts on pending cases related to the riots of May 2022 within four months. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi issued this order during a hearing of a petition by the Punjab government on Tuesday.

The petition requested the cancellation of bail for suspects involved in the incidents of May 9. During this, one of the suspects' lawyers raised a question about how a trial could be completed in four months. In response, the CJP commented, There was a case of the murder of Mashal Khan in Mardan, at that time I was the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court. The hearing of the Mashal Khan murder case was completed in three months. An anti-terrorism court is capable of doing this.

During yesterday's hearing, the top court had directed the trial court to make decisions related to the cancellation of bail for the suspects of May 9 within three months.

Riots erupted following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) premises in a corruption case. The rioters targeted civilian and military establishments, including the Corps Commander's House in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. Subsequently, many of the arrested PTI leaders and workers have been released on bail.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar