Dr Asim case: ATC reserves verdict in Rauf Siddiqui’s bail plea

Rangers' lawyer opposes plea, says sufficient evidence against MQM leader

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) reserved again on Thursday its verdict on a bail plea filed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui who has been arrested in a terror facilitation case involving former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain.

Siddiqui, his party's mayoral candidate Wasim Akhtar, Pak Sarzameen Party president Anis Kaimkhani and Pakistan Peoples Party's Qadir Patel were sent to jail on July 19 after the same court rejected their interim bail applications.

Moving the bail application for the second time, the MQM MPAs lawyer argued that his client was implicated in the case with malafide intentions. The case against him is baseless as he never involved himself in terror facilitation by any means, the lawyer asserted.

At a previous hearing, the court reserved its order on a bail plea filed by Kaimkhani. Siddiqui and others have been accused of asking for favours from Dr Asim to provide medical treatment to terrorists at his private health facilities. The case has been lodged on the complaint of Rangers.

The Rangers lawyer opposed the bail plea and insisted that the court had rejected the accused's bail application previously, therefore, it could not grant it again. He also argued that there was sufficient evidence against the accused.

The ATC-II judge, after hearing arguments, reserved her decision over the plea till August 3. Meanwhile the judge granted Akthar 'B-class' in jail and directed his attorney to submit his educational certificates and tax returns within 15 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2016.