Temporary relief: PHC grants bail to convicted ex-lawmakers

Applications of Javed Tarakai, Sardar Ali and Syed Aqil Shah accepted.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Monday accepted bail requests of three ex-MPAs – Javed Tarakai, Sardar Ali and Syed Aqil Shah – who were arrested on dual-nationality and fake-degree charges after cases against them were registered upon applications filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Syed Aqil Shah

Former K-P sports minister Syed Aqil Shah was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rs3,000 on April 4 for possessing a counterfeit degree. District and Sessions Judge Shaibar Khan observed Shah had produced two allegedly forged degrees. His bail application was also accepted on Rs0.6 million with three reliable sureties.



Javed Tarakai

The former K-P lawmaker was sentenced to one year in jail and fined Rs5,000 for holding dual nationality by a district and sessions judge on April 2. Tarakai’s counsel Advocate Khalid Mehmood argued his client had not concealed facts, saying he has accepted his dual-nationality and will not contest elections. He requested the court to accept the bail petition of Tarakai. Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan approved the application on a sum of Rs0.5million with three reliable sureties.

Sardar Ali

Ali’s counsel informed the PHC bench his client was sentenced to three years imprisonment with a fine of Rs5,000 on March 30 for recording a false statement. He argued that since proof regarding Ali’s degree being fake is not available, the decision is on hold. The bench accepted Ali’s bail plea on a sum of Rs0.6 million with three reliable sureties.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.