• Today’s proceedings were marked by the absence of 24 accused.
• Judge Butar canceled the bail bonds of the 24 absent accused.
• The court has scheduled the next hearing for August 18.

The Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court on Friday issued a show cause notice to DIG operations for his failure to produce the accused before the court.

The ATC convened today for a crucial hearing in the ongoing Model Town Tragedy case, where Judge Ijaz Ahmed Butar presided over the case.

However, today’s proceedings were marked by the absence of 24 accused individuals who failed to appear in court. Responding to this breach of the court’s orders, Judge Butar took decisive action by canceling the bail bonds of the 24 absent accused.

In a significant development, the court has scheduled the next hearing for August 18, during which it has ordered the mandatory presence of all accused individuals. In the previous hearing, the DIG Operations was explicitly instructed to personally ensure the presence of all the accused before the court.

The court also deliberated on the acquittal pleas submitted by former SP Umar Vark and four other accused individuals. Arguments pertaining to these pleas were heard, with Chaudhry Naeemuddin Advocate representing the Pakistan Awami Tehreek in the proceedings.

The Model Town tragedy, a deeply lamentable event that transpired some time ago, has seen a total of 124 accused individuals named in the case. Notably, among these, five individuals, including former DIG Punjab Mushtaq Sukhira and DIG Operations Rana Abdul Jabbar, have already been acquitted.