PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Monday approved the transit bail pleas of four PTI leaders, including nominee for the provincial chief minister’s office Ali Amin Gandapur, Senator Faisal Javed and MNAs-elect Shahram Khan Tarakai and Atif Khan, in cases registered against them.

During the hearing by Chief Justice Ibrahim Khan into Mr Gandapur’s bail application, counsel for the PTI leader, including Syed Sikandar Shah, Shah Faisal Utmankhel, Nomanul Haq Kakakhel and Inam Yousafzai, said his client wanted to appear before an Islamabad court in a case registered by the local police against him under Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 395, 380, 440, 435, 506, 427, 186, 353, 148 and 149, and Anti-Terrorism Act’s Section 7.

Justice Khan observed that it was an old case. The lawyers argued that they just learned about that case and rushed to the court for transit bail.

CJ Khan asked lawyers whether the bail applications of their clients in other cases were accepted.

The counsel replied in affirmative and said the petitioners had already got bails in 24 cases. The court approved the transit bail request of Mr Gandapur by ordering him to produce surety bonds of Rs100,000.

It also accepted the transit bail application of Senator Faisal Javed.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner Shah Faisal Ilyas informed the bench that a case was registered against his client at the Banigala police station under PPC’s sections 427, 506, 147 and 149. He added that the petitioner was booked for several offences in other parts of the federal capital as well.

He said the petitioner wanted to appear before the court but feared arrest by law-enforcement agencies on the way to it.

The court accepted the PTI senator’s transit bail application.

Also, a high court bench comprising Justice Atiq Shah and Justice Waqar Ahmad Khan accepted applications of MNAs-elect Atif Khan and Shahram Tarakai for transit bail in cases registered against them for alleged corruption, irregular recruitment and other offences until Feb 26. They were ordered to appear before the relevant courts.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2024