KARACHI: The interim pre-arrest bail of former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza and his associates was on Saturday extended by different courts in five cases.

In addition to the bail extension, an antiterrorism court also granted interim bail to Dr Mirza and his three aides till June 2 in a fresh case.

Two ATCs extended bail of the disgruntled and disowned leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party in four cases till June 10, while a sessions court extended the interim bail till June 13 in another case.

Read: ATC approves bail for Zulfiqar Mirza in three cases till May 19

Dr Mirza, who was facing over a dozen cases in Karachi and Badin, was initially booked along with his dozens of aides and supporters in three cases on May 3 under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 for allegedly storming a police station in Badin, abusing the police officials, forcibly shutting down the markets in the district, trying to kill two shopkeepers and robbing their shops.

The cases were fixed before the ATC-I for arguments on the pre-arrest bail applications as well as for the hearing of three applications of the former home minister seeking transfer of these cases to a regular court.

But due to the absence of Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I, who was away on leave, the judge in charge Muhammad Javed Alam simply extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Dr Mirza and his over 45 aides till June 10.

Also read: ATC grants pre-arrest bail to Dr Mirza, 18 others till 30th

Meanwhile, the judge in charge of the ATC-I also granted interim pre-arrest bail to the former home minister and his three associates against a surety bond of Rs50,000 each in a fresh case lodged against them for allegedly blocking a road, attacking policemen, deterring them from discharging their duty, rioting and damaging property in Badin.

Dr Mirza, escorted by Rangers, also appeared before the ATC-III for hearing of his bail application in another case.

He along with his associates was booked for allegedly creating a terror-like situation, threatening policemen and obstructing them from performing their duty at the Darakhshan police station on May 16 when he came to the police station to record his statement in three other cases lodged in Badin.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Saleem Raza Baloch of the ATC-III extended interim pre-arrest bail of Dr Mirza and 18 others till June 10 and also reserved the order on bail applications for confirmation or otherwise till the next hearing.

Defence lawyer Shaikh Jawaid Mir argued that the case was politically motivated and none of the sections cited in the FIR were applicable since no offence was made out.

He further contended that relevant sections of the ATA were pertaining to insecurity of public, but the incident in question took place at a police station.

The lawyer alleged that the police decided to poison Dr Mira after taking him into custody and asked the court to confirm the pre-arrest bail applications.

Special Public Prosecutor Mohammad Khan Buriro argued that Dr Mirza along with his armed associates carrying weapons of prohibited bore stormed the police station, took the police officials hostage and publicly asked his aides to kill the policemen.

However, he was of the view that the police remained calm to prevent the bloodshed and contended that the former minister was challenging the writ of the state by launching a “mini rebellion”.

He submitted that the situation not only created fear and insecurity among the policemen but also among the public at large.

The prosecutor further argued that despite court orders Dr Mirza and other suspects had not joined the investigation and asked the court to dismiss the applications.

Meanwhile, a sessions court allowed an application of Dr Mirza to condone his absence and extended his pre-arrest bail till June 13 in a case registered against him and others at the Arambagh police station.

Dr Mirza sent an application through his lawyer asking the court to condone his absence since he was busy at ATCs in connection with the hearings of some other cases.

He was booked for forcibly climbing onto an armoured personnel carrier to deliver a speech and allegedly threatening police officers after his appearance before an ATC on May 9.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2015

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