The proceedings of another 31 cases related to the May 9 vandalism will be held inside the prison.The Punjab Home Department has issued a notification in this regard. The May 9 trial of PTI leaders including Dr Yasmeen Rashid and Mian Mehmoodur Rashid will be held in jail. According to the notification, the Punjab government has permitted jail trial of all the cases pertaining to the May 9 mayhem.
Earlier, the Home Department ordered to hold jail trial of only 14 cases. In June, the Punjab government announced that the trial of those involved in attacks on military and state buildings would be held in jail on a daily basis and ruled out any leniency for the culprits involved in the heinous crime. The federal cabinet in May approved that those involved in the attacks on military installations on May 9, would be tried under the stringent Army Act. Countrywide protests had erupted on May 9 after the paramilitary Rangersarrested PTI Chairman Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court in a corruption case. The former premier Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are already facing the cipher leaking trial in jail by the judge of a special court established under the Official Secrets Act.
The PTI chairman has submitted a petition to the Islamabad High Court challenging his jail trial.