MPAs ‘disrupting’ speaker’s election get bail

Counsel hands over written statements to IO in court

LAHORE:

An additional district and sessions judge has granted interim bail till October 4 to five PML-N MPAs facing accusations of sabotaging the process of the election of the Punjab Assembly speaker on July 29 and snatching ballot papers.

MPAs Rana Mashhood, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Mirza Javed, Rukhsana Kousar and Mian Abdur Raoof had knocked the doors of the court to avoid being arrested by Qilla Gujar Singh police.

The petitioner’s counsel implored the court that police had registered a politically motivated case to humiliate the petitioners.

He submitted that the MPAs had visited the police station for joining the investigation but their statements had not been recorded.

The counsel sought permission and handed over the written statements of the petitioners to the investigation officer (IO) before the court. The court fixed the next date for further proceedings.

Qilla Gujar Singh police had booked the MPAs over allegedly sabotaging the process of the Punjab Assembly speaker’s election by snatching ballot papers during which four papers had gone missing.

The FIR mentioned that the ballot papers were later recovered from Rukhsana Kausar.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2022.