Court grants bail to 15 people in PTI rally case

KARACHI:

The Judicial Magistrate East has approved bail for 15 people, accused in connection with a rally held in support of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The bail application of the 15 accused was heard in front of the court of Judicial Magistrate East at Karachi City Court. The court granted bail to all the accused, requiring them to each submit a personal bond of Rs 10,000.

The police had registered the FIR against the accused under Section 188, with the government as the plaintiff in the case. Following the announcement of a demonstration to express solidarity with PTI chairman, police had launched a crackdown from midnight till dawn to pick key PTI mobilisers in various districts of the city.

Using intelligence from local informers, police conducted raids throughout the city, detaining more than 60 leaders and activists of PTI and placing them under custody.

The Malir district police hauled away 12 PTI workers in Bin Qasim, Quaidabad, and Shah Latif areas.

The East Zone Police detained 32 PTI workers who were organising people for the bike rally in neighborhoods such as Khudadad Colony, Numaish, Shahrae Faisal, Karasaz, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Jamshed Road, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Similarly, the Korangi Police have taken 11 PTI workers into custody after overnight raids.

Meanwhile, the Central Zone police have transferred five PTI workers to police stations after conducting crackdowns in Ayesha Manzil, North Karachi, and Nazimabad. The crackdown comes in response to the call for solidarity with PTI's Chairman and reflects the ongoing tensions between political parties in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2023.