Court grants interim bail to PTI's Salman Akram Raja until October 16

Bail approved against Rs2,00,000 in personal surety bonds; Akram was booked in cases linked to 'protests, rioting'

An Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore has granted interim bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General and legal counsel Salman Akram Raja in connection with cases involving protests and rioting.

The court approved the bail until October 16.

Raja filed applications for interim bail in three separate cases.

Judge Arshad Javed presided over the hearings, during which the court approved his bail against personal surety bonds of Rs2,00,000.

The cases are registered at the Islam Pura, Lari Adda, and Masti Gate police stations.

The police have named Salman Akram Raja and several other PTI leaders in the First Information Reports (FIRs).

In a related development, a two-member bench of the Lahore High Court, led by Justice Shahbaz Rizvi, heard a request for pre-arrest bail for Salman Akram Raja in a terrorism case filed in Islamabad. The court granted him protective bail until 15 October 2024.

It is important to note that a terrorism case has been lodged against Salman Akram Raja at the Secretariat police station in Islamabad.

Yesterday, in the wake of the PTI D-Chowk protests, a case of sedition and terrorism had been filed against PTI founding chairman Imran Khan and several senior party leaders and workers in Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Prominent leaders named in the First Information Report (FIR) include Hammad Azhar, Salman Akram Raja, Ghulam Mohiuddin, MPA Shehbaz, Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, Sheikh Imtiaz, Ali Imtiaz, and Shabbir Gujar, among others.

According to the FIR, Imran Khan allegedly provided with "extraordinary privileges" inside prison, allowing him to communicate with his party leaders.

As a result, these leaders, along with PTI workers, raised anti-state slogans and engaged in vandalism.

One of the workers allegedly injured Constable Bilal during the chaos. Police arrested 16 workers on the spot, and further legal action against them is ongoing.

Additionally, several cases have been registered against PTI workers for violating Section 144 by holding protests in the city. The protests were prohibited under the emergency law, which was in effect at the time.