Benazir murder case: Accused withdraws post-arrest bail plea

Prosecutor argues bail request can only be filed before a trial court.

RAWALPINDI: One of the five accused facing trial in the assassination case of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto withdrew his bail plea from the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday. He had filed the application five months ago.

The lawyer of accused Sher Zaman withdrew his bail application after the lawyers representing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) argued that the bail plea could only be filed before a trial court and not the high court.

FIA special public prosecutor Chaudhry Zufiqar Ali argued that Zaman could not seek post-arrest bail on grounds that he was being detained without trial for the past three-and-a-half years.

The law by virtue of which no one can be kept in jail without trial for more than two years and in such an occurrence, the accused would be granted bail by the trial court was restored in April this year after the laws were repealed by the previous government.

The prosecutor argued that the bail plea of the accused had already been dismissed by the trial court, and if Zaman wanted to get bail, he should go to the trial court.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th,  2011.