PESHAWAR, May 6: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday turned down bail plea of provincial PML-Q president Arbab Ghulam Haider, who was convicted in a murder case.

A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Ijaz Afzal, ruled that the applicant’s main appeal against his conviction would be decided within a month.

The applicant had sought release on medical grounds as he had been suffering from Hepatitis-C and could not be treated inside the prison.

Advocate Khwaja Mohammad Khan argued before the court that the applicant was suffering from a deadly disease and was entitled to be released on bail.

Mr Haider was earlier granted bail by the high court without issuing notice to the complainant party due to which the Supreme Court recalled his bail and ordered his arrest.

The applicant surrendered more than a month back to the police and has been admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital.

The appeal of the applicant has been pending before the high court since his conviction on July 6, 2002. He was sentenced along with three of his relatives to life imprisonment for killing Mohammad Ishaq.