HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday granted protective bail for 10 days to leaders of Sindh Action Committee, a nationalist parties’ alliance, for a sum of Rs25,000 each.

The division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Karim Khan Agha and Zulfiqar Ali Sangi said that applicants would not be arrested under any other FIR which had been lodged in respect of June 6 act of arson in Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) in Malir district.

Nationalist leaders Sindh United Party chief Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, Zain Shah, Sajjad Ahmed Chandio, Aslam Khairpuri and Jan Mohammad Junejo were among those who obtained bail.

Their counsel, Riazat Ali Sahar, Mohammad Yousuf Laghari, Suleman Unnar and Aamir Qureshi, stated that three FIRs were lodged against the applicants under various sections of PPC and Section-7 of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) at Gadap police station in Malir district.

The FIRs pertained to disturbances that took place around the BTK on June 6, forcing the applicants to approach the court to seek protective bail as they apprehended their arrest by police on mala fide grounds, they said.

They said the applicants wished to surrender themselves to the trial court concerned in order to seek pre-arrest bail in the aforesaid FIRs as they feared that they might be arrested under other FIRs registered against them, of which they were not aware.

They requested the court that their clients might not be arrested under any other FIR pertaining to the June 6 incident.

The court said that without examining merits of the case, the applicants were being granted protective bail for 10 days in all three FIRs for a sum of Rs25,000 each.

The order would lapse on June 19 or whenever the applicants approached the trial court concerned for pre-arrest bail, said the court, restraining police from arresting the applicants under any other FIR lodged in respect of the June 6 incident.

JSQM workers booked for anti-state slogans

MIRPURKHAS: Police lodged a case against eight activists of Digri taluka chapter of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz on Thursday on charges of raising slogans against the state and instigating people to revolt during a demonstration in Digri against arrest of the party chief Sanan Qureshi in Karachi a few days ago.

The case was registered on behalf of state against Mohammad Hussain Abrang, Sajjad Jarwar, Khushall Meghwar and five unknown activists of JSQM.

Meanwhile, police continued raids in different places of the district to arrest the suspects. One of the suspects Khushall Meghwar had reportedly been detained by police.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2021