ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Ter­rorism Court (ATC) on Friday granted post-arrest bail to former chief minister of Pu­­njab and PTI leader Chaudhry Par­vez Elahi in a case registered against him for violent protest outside the Judicial Complex.

ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Mo­­hammad Zulqarnain ordered the release of Mr Elahi if he is not required in any other case. The PTI leader was also ordered to deposit Rs20,000 as surety bond. Mr Elahi, however, could not be released as his bail bond was not deposited.

A senior counsel of Mr Elahi’s legal team told Dawn that there was an apprehension that he might be re-arrested in yet another case and because of this, the amount of surety bond was not deposited.

He, however, said that the bail bond would be deposited on Monday.

Ex-CM ordered to deposit Rs20,000 as surety bond

During the course of the hearing, Mr Elahi’s counsel Sardar Abdul Raziq argued that the PTI leader had been implicated in the case six months after registration of FIR. He argued those nominated in the FIR including Imran Khan, Asad Umar and others, had already been granted bail.

He further said the investigation team could not recover anything from the possession of Mr Elahi during the course of interrogation and, therefore, the former chief minister was entitled to be granted bail.

The prosecution on the other hand opposed the grant of bail to Mr Elahi.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2023