Khadija Shah granted bail in two cases

Court also grants post-arrest bail to six other accused

LAHORE:

A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to fashion designer Khadija Shah in cases of attacks on Jinnah House and Askari Tower.

The bench directed the accused to furnish surety bonds of Rs200,000 and Rs500,000 to avail relief in both cases.

The bench, headed by Justice Aalia Neelum, announced the reserved verdict on petitions of Khadija Shah seeking the relief of post-arrest bail in the cases.

The bench had reserved its verdict on the petitions after hearing detailed arguments of the parties on October 11.

Earlier, in his arguments, Khadija Shah's counsel had submitted that the police arrested his client without any evidence.

He submitted that all the charges against his client were false as she was not involved in any illegal activity or violence.

He asked the court to allow the petitions and release the petitioner on bail. However, Special Prosecutor Farhad Ali Shah opposed the bail petitions. He submitted that Khadija Shah had been accused of raising anti-state slogans and inciting people at the occasion.

He submitted that the accused was not nominated in both cases, in response to a court query.

Meanwhile, the bench also granted post-arrest bail to six accused, including Arbaz Khan, Salman Qadri, Usman Sharif, and Shahbaz Ali.

The Sarwar Road and Gulberg police had registered cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and workers over attacking Jinnah House and Askari Tower during May 9 vandalism.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2023.