KARACHI: Former senator Faisal Raza Abidi was released from prison on Thursday after a district and sessions court granted him bail in a case about unlawful possession of a weapon.

The former Pakistan Peoples Party senator was arrested on Nov 5 during a raid on his residence in New Rizvia Housing Society and subsequently booked for allegedly possessing an illegal sub-machinegun. He was remanded to prison the following day.

He moved a bail application through his lawyer Naeem Qureshi and contended that the weapon in question was licensed and a permit had been issued in the name of one of his guards.

After hearing arguments of both sides in the case, the district and sessions judge for Malir, Khalid Hussain Shahani, granted bail to Mr Abidi against a surety bond of Rs50,000.

The court ordered his release from prison after the surety had been furnished and he was set free in the evening.

According to the prosecution, a number of weapons, ranging from sub-machineguns to Kalashnikovs, were found during search of Mr Abidi’s house and he could not provide the licence/permit of a sub-machinegun.

A case was, therefore, registered against him under Section 23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013, at the Sachal police station.

After his arrest, some police officials had claimed that the former senator had been taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the killing of two men belonging to the Tableeghi Jamaat in the Patel Para area last week. However, police did not show his arrest in that particular case.

Notice issued

An antiterrorism court issued a notice to the prosecution on a bail application of the chief of the All Pakistan Shia Action Committee in a case pertaining to instigation to violence.

Allama Mirza Yusuf Hussain, a former leader of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, moved a bail application and the ATC-IX issued notices to the prosecutor as well as to the investigating officer for Nov 12.

The cleric was remanded to prison a few days ago for allegedly instigating people to violence in the Sharifabad area after the murder of civil rights campaigner Khurram Zaki in May.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2016