ATC grants Sheikh Rashid interim bail

Restrains police from arresting former interior minister for at least one week

RAWALPINDI:

An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi granted interim bail to former interior minister Sheikh Rashid on Monday against surety bonds worth Rs50,000.

The ATC judge restrained Waris Khan Police from arresting Rashid for at least one week in connection with a case pertaining to May 9.

During the proceeding, the judge remarked on Rashid's health, observing that he appeared to have lost significant weight.

Rashid, who heads the Awami Muslim League (AML) and was a close aide of ousted prime minister Imran Khan during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's tenure in the federal government, replied that he lost 31kgs in the 40 days he spent on a 'Tableeghi mission'.

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Rashid was purportedly abducted from a private housing society in Islamabad on September 17, with his family and lawyer claiming he had been unlawfully arrested. Rashid's whereabouts remained undisclosed and the police denied involvement in the former interior minister's reported arrest.

He resurfaced over a month later and maintained he had been on a 40-day preach mission (tableeghi), where no one harmed him.

During his time off the grid, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) teams in Rawalpindi had attempted to seal Rashid's residence Lal Haveli.

Since his return, the AML chief has voiced his unequivocal support for the armed forces and vowed to get amnesty for those who made the "mistake" of being involved in protests that broke out on May 9 against Imran's arrest by the paramilitary Rangers.