ATC grants bail to 18 PTI workers

An anti-terrorism court has approved the bail of 18 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers who were arrested during the protests on November 24 and 26, 2024, in Attock and Rawalpindi. The court has ordered their release, and after spending 92 days in detention, the workers have started to be freed from Attock, Jhelum, and Adiala jails.

Defence lawyers Imran Abbasi and Faisal Malik argued that these individuals were arrested from their homes under unknown circumstances and had no charges against them.

They stated that protesting is not a crime and is a constitutional right.

The court, citing insufficient evidence, granted bail with the condition that each detainee submit surety bonds worth Rs0.1 million.

The released workers include Umar Farooq, Obaidullah Khan, Zainul Abidin, Wajahat Ali, Tayyab Nasir, Khawar Ali, Murtaza Khan, Muhammad Haroon, Lala Sher, Naeem Gul and Fatah Khan.

They had been arrested by police from Hassan Abdal Saddar police station, Hazro police station and Rawalpindi police.

Meanwhile, hearings for the bail petitions of 1,249 other arrested PTI workers are set to commence on Monday, March 3.