Qureshi, Umar get bail in May 9 riots case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday granted bail to senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar in a case registered against them for the May 9 vandalism.

Notably, angry protestors and miscreants had attacked sensitive state and military installations after PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested on corruption charges on May 9 from the premises of the IHC by Rangers in a graft case.

The violent attacks were followed by a serious crackdown on the PTI in which several party leaders and workers were arrested and slapped with cases of inciting violence and spreading unrest.

Qureshi and Umar had emerged as two key leaders who had opted not to part ways with the party after their release from custody, unlike a major chunk of their former colleagues who denounced their party memberships.

Nonetheless, following his release from jail last month, Umar stepped down from his role as the PTI secretary general.

The two leaders had appeared before an additional sessions judge earlier this week in connection with a case registered against them over arson and vandalism of state and public property.

After the local court had denied them bail, both leaders were seen fleeing court premises in a desperate attempt to avoid their arrest.

Still concerned about their possible arrest, Qureshi and Umar approached the IHC seeking bail.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir presided over the proceedings on Friday.
After hearing the arguments, the judge granted bail to both the former ministers against surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

Further, the court directed the police to provide records related to the case until July 10.

On Thursday, both Qureshi and Umar failed to get relief from the IHC for the May 9 riot cases as they were absent from the hearing, allegedly due to the police preventing them from entering the court premises.

Justice Tahir heard the bail applications of the former federal ministers regarding the cases filed in the Tarnol police station against the May 9 protests.

Petitioners' lawyer Ali Bukhari said that the two leaders came to the high court at 7:30am but the police personnel had prevented them from entering the court.
He urged the court to watch the CCTV footage from the IHC gates.

The court adjourned the hearing and accepted the request of the lawyer to give time to Qureshi and Umar to appear till Friday.