PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the counsel for former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and the provincial government to present arguments on whether a suspect could be re-arrested multiple times in old cases after the grant of bail by a court.

A bench consisting of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah issued directions during the hearing into an application filed on behalf of Asad Qaiser, an imprisoned PTI central leader, seeking orders for law-enforcement agencies against re-arresting him in any old case after the issuance of bail by the relevant court.

It observed that as Dec 7 was fixed for hearing into Mr Qaiser’s main petition seeking details of the cases registered and inquiries under way against him in the province, the present petition would be heard with it.

The bench directed the petitioner’s lawyer, Syed Sikandar Hayat Shah, and additional advocate general Danyal Chamkani to defend their respective stands on the matter during the next hearing.

Asks counsel for Qaiser, govt to present arguments on that point

Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim wondered if it hadn’t become a joke that a suspect was re-arrested in some past case after the grant of bail in a case.

The bench observed that it would decide whether a suspect could be re-arrested in a past case after getting bail in another case.

The respondents in the main petition are the KP government through its chief secretary, the province’s inspector-general of police, the NAB regional director-general, the Federal Investigation Agency director-general and the anti-corruption establishment’s director.

Lawyer Shah told the court that initially, his client was named in a case registered in Swabi about the May 9 protests as well as in a case registered by the anti-corruption establishment (ACE) about “illegal” appointments.

He said that in both cases, the petitioner was granted pre-arrest bails by the relevant courts.

The counsel said that his client was arrested in another case registered by the ACE on Nov 2 accusing him of committing certain irregularities in the purchase of equipment for the Gajju Khan Medical College, Swabi.

He pointed out that when his client was granted bail and released from prison, he was again arrested by the police of Charssada district in connection with the May 9 violent protests near Charsadda Toll Plaza on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway.

Mr Shah added that the former NA speaker’s bail petition was fixed for hearing by an anti-terrorism court on Nov 29 (Wednesday) and therefore, the police were likely to re-arrest him if the court granted him bail.

He requested the court to restrain the law-enforcement agencies from re-arresting the petitioner in any “untraced” case.

The lawyer contended that the law-enforcement agencies were making a mockery of the law as they had registered hundreds of cases and could include any person as suspect in them through supplementary statements.

He added that the court should intervene to bar the anti-graft watchdog from that “illegal practice.”

Mr Shah said that the petitioner was a law-abiding citizen and had the distinction to serve as the speaker of both national and KP assemblies.

The AAG told the court that a suspect was re-arrested if he or she was charged in any other case and that act of the law-enforcement agencies was in line with the law.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2023