KARACHI: An antiterrorism court issued on Saturday notices to a prosecutor and the lawyer for a complainant on a bail application of Pak Sarzameen Party president Anis Kaimkhani in a case related to treatment of alleged terrorists at hospitals of former minister Dr Asim Hussain.

The PSP leader and three other politicians — Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Waseem Akhtar and Rauf Siddiqui and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Qadir Patel — were sent to prison after the ATC dismissed their pre-arrest bail applications on July 19.

The PSP president again moved the trial court (ATC-II) through his lawyer for bail after the Sindh High Court on July 21 dismissed his bail plea on some technical grounds and asked him to approach the trial court first.

Initially, the ATC-II judge had questioned the maintainability of the application and observed that she had rejected a similar application hardly a few days ago. The trial court directed the lawyers to argue first whether or not the plea was maintainable. When the matter came up for hearing on Saturday, the applicant’s lawyer said that the application was moved in accordance with the SHC order.

The counsel for Rangers, which is complainant in the case, also submitted that the trial court can hear the application since the SHC had referred the matter to it.

Defence counsel M. Ilyas Khan contended in the bail application that the allegations against his client were baseless, adding that the applicant was out of country when the case was registered.

The ATC issued notices to the prosecutor and the lawyer for the paramilitary force for July 27 to record their arguments on bail application.

The suspects along with the MQM’s London-based leader Saleem Shahzad and Usman Moazzam of the Pasban have been booked for allegedly asking Dr Asim, main suspect in the case, to provide treatment and shelter to the suspected terrorists, militants and gangsters at the North Nazimabad and Clifton branches of his hospital.

Patel seeks better class in prison

Qadir Patel through his lawyer moved on Saturday an application seeking better facilities and medical assistance in the prison.

The ATC directed the jail authorities to provide required medical facilities to the applicant and sought a report of the verification of his educational certificates and taxation record to decide whether he was entitled for better-class facility in prison.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2016