LAHORE, Nov 14: An anti-terrorism court judge here on Wednesday issued notices on five petitions seeking bail of 85 Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders and workers hauled up from the city on Nov 13 when they were to participate in long march.

The court issued notices to the state for Nov 15 (today) and Nov 16 (tomorrow) after hearing the petitioners’ counsel Mian Hanif Tahir, Mian Jamil Akhtar and Iftikhar Shahid.

The PPP workers include MNA Nasim Qureshi, Punjab PPP Information Secretary Farzana Raja, MPA Azma Bokhari, Shamim Niazi, Sajida Mir Amna Zaidi and others who have been detained at five different police stations under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order, Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and some sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The advocates argued that the PPP activists had been detained illegally as they were exercising their constitutional right to protest.