PTI leaders secure bail from ATC

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday confirmed the pre-arrest bails of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Asad Umar, Farrukh Habib, Mian Aslam Iqbal and others, over allegedly attacking police officials, creating law and order situation, panic and intervening in state matters at Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore.

As proceedings commenced today, the ATC judge asked about the attendance of Zubair Niazi and Hassan Niazi. To this, their lawyer Burhan Moazzam Malik informed the court that they are on their way and will reach shortly.

Malik argued that the first information report (FIR) was registered around 36 hours after the occurrence of the incident. He furthered that the content of the FIR “is not more than a concocted and false story and that the accused have nothing to do with this case”.

He implored the court that his clients are still being made the subject of political victimization.

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“Neither there is any witness nor anything available to establish the allegations levelled on the PTI leaders,” the lawyer argued.

Malik submitted that his clients have joined the investigation so that their bail can be confirmed.

PTI’s senior leader Asad Umar’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar argued that there are judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) that two FIRs cannot be registered of one incident “but the lower rank officials had to obey the instructions of their high ups”.

Safdar implored the court that hundreds of FIRs were registered against PTI leaders but concerned quarters could not establish their nexus with the allegations levelled in the FIRs.

To this, the ATC judge asked the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)’s head SSP Imran Kishwar about the update on the investigation.

The SSP replied that Asad Umar joined the investigation but the probe has not been completed yet.

The law officers strongly opposed the arguments of the accused side’s counsels.

The judge first reserved a decision and then confirmed bail of the accused PTI leaders Asad Umar, Farrukh Habib, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Musarat Jamshed Cheema and others.