An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has issued arrest warrants for former President Dr. Arif Alvi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and dozens of other senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders in connection with the protests held on November 26.

The court, presided over by ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, ordered the immediate arrest and production of the accused before the court after they failed to appear in connection with FIR No. 1193, registered at the Karachi Company police station in Islamabad.

On Thursday, the court issued 41 new warrants, adding to the nine previously issued, bringing the total number of PTI figures facing arrest to 50.

Among those named in the warrants are several prominent PTI leaders, including Abdul Qayyum Niazi, Shibli Faraz, Faisal Javed, Salman Akram Raja, Rauf Hassan, Murad Saeed, Ahmed Niazi, Asad Qaiser, Hammad Azhar, Atif Khan, Shoaib Shaheen, Azam Swati, Omar Ayub, Aleema Khan, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Kanwal Shauzab, Shandana Gulzar, and Sher Afzal Marwat.

The court action is part of a broader crackdown related to the unrest and violence reported during the PTI-led demonstrations in November 2023. In total, 32 cases were registered in the Rawalpindi Division over the protests on November 24 and 26.

One of the more serious cases includes an FIR in Taxila, which implicates Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder Imran Khan, in connection with the death of a police constable during the November 26 protest.

The issuance of warrants signals heightened legal pressure on PTI leadership, as the judiciary continues to pursue cases tied to the party’s protest movement against the current government.