Haleem denied release

Jail officials at Karachi Central Jail refused to release opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh on Friday, a day after the Sindh High Court granted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader bail in two cases pertaining to terrorism and rioting.

The jail officials maintained that they had received incomplete release orders.

According to them, the order issued by the Ghotki court did not have the judge's signature and seal, while the one issued by a Karachi court had a wrong section mentioned in it.

Haleem is facing trial in two cases in the anti-terrorism court and the proceedings of two other cases against him are under way in Malir and Ghotki courts.

He has been granted bail in all four cases.

Read: SHC grants bail to Haleem in two cases

'Cheap tactics'

Following the jail authorities' refusal to release Haleem, PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of using "cheap tactics" to keep the opposition leader in detention.

Addressing a press conference, he said while the court had issued Haleem's release orders, the PPP was trying to keep him in jail on pretext of a typing error in the text of the orders.

"The Sindh government is using cheap tactics against Haleem, but he will be released by the court by Saturday (today) or Monday," said Zaman.

Turning his attention to the 10-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), he saidthe final nail in the PDM's coffin had been put and soon the alliance's funeral prayers would be led by PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

"They [the opposition] have been hoping for an NRO, but Prime Minister Imran Khan will never give then one, no matter to what extent they blackmail him," added Zaman.

The PTI leader further pointed out that over 48,000 dogbite cases had been reported over the past three months in Sindh, most of them having taken place in PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari's constituency.

"And before any MPA is suspended on the matter, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah should be suspended," Zaman went on.