LAHORE, Nov 10: Anti-Terrorism Court judge Shabbir Husain Chattah on Saturday granted bail to 350 lawyers who were arrested on Nov 5 from the Lahore High Court (LHC), while adjourned hearing of 45 other petitions till Nov 17.
The lawyers were hauled up from the LHC premises when they tried to stage a rally to protest the imposition of emergency and promulgation of the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) by the chief of the army staff.
Azam Nazir Tarar and Aftab Ahmad Bajwa advocates have filed bail petitions for the release of their arrested colleagues. A lawyer seeking anonymity said the court had granted bail to only those lawyers, who were either not considered active members of the bar or did not have any political affiliations.
The 45 advocates who were not granted bail included Pakistan Bar Council member Ramzan Chaudhry, LHCBA secretary Sarfraz Ahmad Cheema, SCBA media adviser Muhammad Azhar Siddiq and Punjab Bar Council members Yasin Sohal, Tariq Javed, Zaman Mangat, Shahid Bilal and Rana Zia Abdul Rehman. —Reporter