PTI activist Sanam Javed withdraws candidacy from NA-119

Incarcerated social media activist re-arrested after securing bail from ATC

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist, Sanam Javed, on Monday announced her withdrawal from the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8, a decision made in the midst of legal challenges and controversies surrounding her involvement in various cases.

Javed has opted to withdraw her candidacy from NA-119, a National Assembly constituency in Lahore, where PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz is also contesting the elections.

Javed’s decision has come at a time when she was again taken under custody by the Punjab police moments after she secured bail from the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a May 9 riots case earlier in the day.

During today’s court proceeding, Javed's legal counsel highlighted that she had been incarcerated for more than six months in connection to a terror case. Deputy Prosecutor Abdul Jabbar Dogar argued against Javed's bail, alleging that she had incited people to commit arson on May 9, following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

Read: Sanam Javed to take on Maryam Nawaz in elections

Upon her release, Javed was promptly taken into custody by the investigating police in a case registered at Shadman police station. Additionally, there is an ongoing case against the PTI supporter in the Model Town police station.

Javed had spent several months behind bars, facing charges related to multiple terror cases stemming from the May 9 protests. Her history includes several instances of being re-arrested immediately after securing bail from the court.

It is noteworthy that on November 8, Javed was granted bail by the ATC in Lahore regarding the case of setting fire to the PML-N office. However, she was once again taken into custody by the police.

Apart from the aforementioned legal issues, Javed has been accused of assaulting police officers, causing injuries, contributing to a law-and-order situation, and possessing petrol bombs during a police operation at Khan’s residence in Lahore's Zaman Park.