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ATC defers verdict in November 2024 protest case involving Aleema after judge goes on leave

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Cite

Asad, M. (2026, September 25). ATC defers verdict in November 2024 protest case involving Aleema after judge goes on leave. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2032579/atc-defers-verdict-in-november-2024-protest-case-involving-aleema-after-judge-goes-on-leave

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Dawn · collected 2026-09-25 · by Malik Asad

Quick Summary

An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi deferred its verdict in a November 2024 protest case involving Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, and nine other accused after the judge went on leave. The new announcement date is set for October 1. Aleema's lawyer, Faisal Malik, expressed concerns that his client’s defense arguments had not been heard by the court before the verdict was reserved, calling the decision unlawful.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Rawalpindi on Friday, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) postponed announcing its verdict in a protest-related case from September 25, after judge Amjad Ali Shah went on leave. The new announcement date is set for October 1, 2024. Among the ten accused is Aleema Khan, sister of PTI leader Imran Khan. Lawyer Faisal Malik, representing Aleema, questioned the court's decision to reserve the verdict without hearing defense arguments and stressed that Aleema’s counsel had not been given a chance to present their case.

Written for “ATC Postpones Protest Verdict” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 ATC Postpones Protest Verdict
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different stages of legal proceedings involving Imran Khan's sister Aleema, but not the same specific incident.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different stages of legal proceedings related to Aleema Khan, with Article A reporting her initial detention and Article B describing a court's decision to defer the verdict in an earlier case.”
Times of India
Hedges 3 of 28 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different stages of legal proceedings related to protests but refer to distinct dates and events.”
Dawn
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different court proceedings involving Imran Khan's sisters at different times and in different contexts.”
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 72/100
“Article A discusses a request to suspend the detention of Noreen and Uzma Khan at the Lahore High Court, while Article B refers to the deferral of a verdict in Aleema Khan's protest case at an anti-terrorism court.”
Dawn
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe two different judicial proceedings involving Aleema Khan at distinct times and related to separate incidents: one is a petition against her detention under the MPO Ordinance, while the other involves deferring the verdict in an earlier protest case.”
Dawn
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different events related to Aleema Khan: one reports her and others' arrest following a detention order, while the other discusses the deferral of an ATC verdict in a protest case involving her.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
72/100
Dawn's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Dawn · 2491 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Malik Asad
43 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Following the completion of the trial and final arguments, the court reserved its verdict and said that it would be pronounced on Oct 29.
🔮 “But we surrender ourselves before the ultimate court where we all must return one day, where all will be held accountable for what they have done.”
🔮 He will preside over a single bench at the Rawalpindi registry.
🔮 While offering yet another opportunity to human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Hazir-Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha to record their statements in a security breach case, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday warned them that a verdict could come even without their testimony if they refused.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · ATC warns Imaan, husband of verdict sans testimony
🔮 Meanwhile, no prosecution witness could be cross-examined during Thursday’s hearing amid the dispute over the state counsel’s appointment.
🔮 Justice Malik remarked with a smile, “In that case, you might as well remove our badges too, as we are also currently serving as additional judges.”
🔮 Describing the charge as the foundation of a trial, Azad maintained that any defect in its framing would undermine the legality of the subsequent proceedings.
🔮 He warned that they could face imprisonment if it was not presented before the court.
🔮 On the application filed by the defence, he said, “I have received your applications; I will issue an order regarding this.
🔮 The court observed that Barrister Gohar could have submitted his response in writing.
Also by Malik Asad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 43 articles by Malik Asad →

Topics

ATC Islamabad PTI RAWALPINDI Sadiqabad

Subjects

Aleema Khan PERSON · 3× Malik PERSON · 3× PTI ORG · 3× Aleema PERSON · 2× Sadiqabad GPE · 2× ATC ORG · 1× Amjad Ali Shah PERSON · 1× Faisal Malik PERSON · 1× Imran Khan’s PERSON · 1× RAWALPINDI GPE · 1×

Narrative

A day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the city’s Red Zone ended with the PTI leadership retreating, after which the party announced that it was calling off its planned protest sit-in “for the time being”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 He, however, expressed confidence that the court would ensure justice.

Claims (20 extracted, 0 hedged)

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday deferred the announcement of its verdict in the November 2024 protest case involving 10 accused, including Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, after the judge went on leave. asserted
judge → defer → leave
The court, which had fixed September 25 for announcing the verdict, informed the lawyers representing the accused about the postponement. asserted
which → fix → postponement
Judge Amjad Ali Shah had reserved the verdict on September 22. asserted
Shah → reserve → September
Following the postponement, the court has set October 1 as the new date for its announcement. asserted
court → follow → announcement
Meanwhile, lawyer Faisal Malik, representing Aleema, expressed reservations about the court’s decision to reserve the verdict. asserted
Malik → represent → verdict
He argued that the court had not heard the defence’s arguments in the case. asserted
court → argue → case
Speaking to the media outside the Rawalpindi ATC, Malik said he had arrived at the court at 8am during the previous hearing and requested an exemption from personal appearance for his client. asserted
he → speak → client
“The court cannot deliver a verdict without hearing the arguments of Aleema Khan’s counsel,” he said, adding that he had no objection to the prosecution presenting its arguments. asserted
prosecution → deliver → arguments
“No arguments have been heard on behalf of Aleema Khan in this case,” Malik said. asserted
Malik → hear → case
He argued that the reserved verdict was unlawful because the accused’s counsel had not been allowed to present arguments. asserted
counsel → argue → arguments
“Let us be heard before the verdict is delivered. asserted
verdict → let → ?
There is no evidence against Aleema Khan in this case,” he claimed. asserted
he → be → case
Malik added that he had been present in court and respected the judicial process. asserted
he → add → process
He, however, expressed confidence that the court would ensure justice. asserted
court → express → justice
The case came to be known as the November 26 protest case. asserted
case → come → case
The protest saw more than 10,000 PTI supporters enter Islamabad in 2024, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown, and clash with around 20,000 security personnel deployed to prevent them from advancing. asserted
supporters → see → them
A day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the city’s Red Zone ended with the PTI leadership retreating, after which the party announced that it was calling off its planned protest sit-in “for the time being”. asserted
it → end → time
Subsequently, cases were registered against several PTI leaders under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. asserted
cases → register → Act
Two of the cases were registered at Taxila police station and one each at Sadiqabad and Naseerabad police stations. asserted
Two → register → stations
Aleema, along with 10 others, was booked in the case registered at Sadiqabad police station. asserted
Aleema → book → station
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