Shahzain’s bail application returned

ATC returns bail application of JWP president.

QUETTA: Anti Terrorism Court Quetta on Friday returned the bail application of president Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Shahzain Bugti.

Bugti, along with 26 others, was arrested by personnel of Frontier Corps on charges of carrying a large cache of illegal weapons. The police registered cases against those arrested and got physical remand from the Anti-Terrorism Court Quetta. An application seeking Bugti’s bail was later filed.

After hearing arguments, the court returned the bail application declaring that the cases filed against Bugti and others arrested do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Anti-Terrorism Act.  The court ordered the police to approach lower courts in order to obtain any further physical remand of the accused.

Talking to the media after the court’s decision, Bugti’s counsel Wishwa Nath Kohli, who is also the central vice president of JWP, said that the court had accepted their plea that this is not a case of terrorism.

He said that the bail application will be filed within one or two days in the session court.

Kohli said the rulers had prepared a conspiracy under the pretext of illegal weapons to defame the party and its leader and deter the party from taking out a long march towards Dera Bugti which had been announced.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2011.