PESHAWAR: A local court on Friday granted health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra bail in a case relating to the violation of coronavirus-related standard operating procedures.

Mr Jhagra appeared before special magistrate Ahteshamul Haq, who granted him bail until May 17 on the condition of producing two surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

The Sarband police had registered an FIR against the minister and management of a local restaurant on April 26 for hosting an iftar dinner in violation of the Covid-19 SOPs.

The lawyer for Mr Jhagra told the magistrate that the case against his client was registered in a hurry as he was neither the restaurant owner nor did he use his influence to open it.

He said since the minister had nothing to do with the restaurant, the SOP violation case needed to be registered against the restaurant owner and not him.

The FIR against the minister that also named the restaurant’s management was registered by the police over a social media uproar, which erupted after pictures of the iftar dinner went viral.

The pictures showed the minister and several others sit in the restaurant in complete disregard of social distancing and mask protocols.

The police registered the case under sections 6 and 17 of the KP Epidemic Control and Emergency Relief Act, 2020.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2021