LAHORE, May 2: Two local anti-terrorism courts on Monday discharged as many as 140 PPP workers from cases which they have been facing since their arrest on April 16. The decision came after ATC prosecutor Rana Bakhtiar informed the courts that the Punjab government had decided to withdraw charges against the PPP workers.

A majority of the workers, according to the People’s Lawyers’ Forum sources, belonged to Sindh who were shifted to several jails across the province two weeks ago. They were lodged at Jhelum, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Faisalabad prisons.

Reply sought: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday admitted former PPP MPA Dr Ziuaullah Bangash’s petition seeking quashment of the FIR which charged him with terrorism. Comprising Justice Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and Justice Mohammad Bilal, the bench sought reply from the Punjab government.

Dr Bangash’s counsel Iftikhar Shahid submitted that the Shadbagh police initially charged Dr Bangash with violating restrictions on political activities besides placing him under detention for a period of 90 days. The petitioner was subsequently arrested and allowed bail and it was after his release on bail that the charge of terrorism was added. Meanwhile, Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam admitted a writ petition moved by five PPP workers, including Nisar Ahmad, challenging terrorism charges. The court issued notices to the provincial home department seeking parawise comments. Similarly, Justice Mohammad Bilal Khan sent to the home secretary six constitutional petitions challenging the addition of terrorism charges on similar grounds. The court directed the home secretary to dispose of the petitions in 10 days considering them as representations.

BADAR: A division bench adjourned for Tuesday the hearing of PPP secretary-general Jahangir Badar’s petition seeking the summoning of record for examining prosecution witnesses by a local accountability court which was trying him on the allegations of ordering illegal appointments during his tenure as a federal minister.

Advocate Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa submitted before the bench, comprising Justice Rustam Ali Malik and Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam, that the accountability court had rejected twice the applications by the PPP leader that it should summon the record from the Pakistan State Oil and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited to examine prosecution witnesses on the basis of the record.