PESHAWAR, June 18: A woman charged with drug-pushing was granted bail by the Peshawar High Court under the law that makes grant of bail mandatory for women not involved in heinous crimes.

A single bench, comprising the acting Chief Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai, accepted the bail petition filed by Ms Shamshad and directed her to furnish two sureties of Rs50,000 each. The bench observed that under the new ordinance, she was entitled to bail.

The petitioner was arrested on May 10 at Bara Qadeem Check post. Police claimed that she was carrying a shopping bag from which they seized 2.5kg of charas. She was charged under Section 9(C) of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997.

The state counsel had argued that Ms Shamshad was charged in a heinous crime and the offence she committed was punishable by up to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.