LAHORE: A sessions court on Saturday granted interim pre-arrest bail to nine members of Punjab Assembly belonging to PML-N in a case pertaining to violence in the assembly on the day of election of chief minister on April 16.

As the opposition MPAs — Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Saiful Malook, Rukhsana Kausar, Mirza Javed, Khizar Khagha, Raja Sagheer Ahmad, Ghulam Habib Awan, Awais Leghari and Mian Rauf — appeared before the court to seek bail, their counsel Rana Asadullah Khan argued that police had implicated them in the case at the behest of the PTI-PML-Q coalition government in the province. In the same case, he added, the police had declared all MPAs of the ruling coalition innocent despite the availability of video evidence against them.

He asked the court to grant the bail to the petitioners.

The court allowed the petitions for the interim bail till Sept 14 subject to furnishing of surety bonds.

Previously, prime minister’s special assistant Attaullah Tarar and MPA Bilal Farooq Tarar also secured pre-arrest bail from the courts in the case.

Qilla Gujjar Singh police had registered a case against the MPAs of PTI and PML-Q and staff of the assembly on charges of resorting to violence during the election of the chief minister, wherein Hamza Sheh­baz emerged victorious against Par­vez Elahi. The MPAs were also charged with manhandling the then deputy speaker Dost Mohammad Maz­ari. Several PTI and PML-Q lawmakers besides staff of the assembly, including then secretary Mohammad Khan Bhatti, had secured pre-arrest bail from court in the case. However, after Mr Elahi’s victory in a run-off election for the chief minister, police allegedly changed direction of investigation and started summoning PML-N lawmakers. Police also got warrants from a judicial magistrate for their arrest.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2022