Playwright's lawyer to argue on bail plea

LAHORE:

A division bench of the Lahore High Court, headed by Justice Shahbaz Ali Rizvi, has directed the counsel for the victim, Khalilur Rehman Qamar, to prepare a case by October 22 regarding a post-arrest bail application filed by the accused, Amina Aruj, and her co-accused, Yasir Ali.

They are allegedly involved in the abduction of the drama writer for ransom.

The petitioners, Amina and Yasir, filed for post-arrest bail after the Anti-Terrorism Court dismissed their initial bail request without adequately considering the facts.

Their counsels argued that the victim's side is blackmailing the accused with various demands. Amina, the alleged main accused, denied accepting any demands, asserting that the local police, in collusion with Qamar, fabricated the charges against them.

The defense highlighted a lack of concrete evidence to support the allegations and requested the court to grant post-arrest bail. According to the First Information Report (FIR), the suspects are accused of robbing Qamar of his mobile phone, watch, and cash, as well as transferring Rs250,000 from his ATM card.

The playwright claims the kidnappers blindfolded him and abandoned him in a deserted area before fleeing.