LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday allowed an application for early hearing of post-arrest bail petitions of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan in eight cases of May 9 riots, including an attack on the corps commander’s residence.

ATC-I judge Manzer Ali Gul heard the application filed by the legal team of the incarcerated former premier. The lawyers requested the court to reschedule the bail petitions for an early hearing.

However, Deputy District Prosecutor Rana Aazar opposed the request for early hearing, saying the application for early hearing cannot be filed in criminal cases.

The prosecutor also noted that the PTI founder’s lead counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, failed to appear at multiple hearings for arguments.

He questioned the urgency, as the bail hearings were already scheduled for Nov 30.

The judge also remarked that the Nov 30 date was set due to the absence of the petitioner’s counsel.

The judge allowed the early hearing request with a direction to Barrister Safdar to conclude his arguments on Nov 27.

Other cases include attacks on Askari Tower and Shadman police station.

These post-arrest bail petitions were filed after the Lahore High Court on July 25 quashed physical remand of the former premier in 12 cases.

ATC-III judge Arshad Javed on Nov 8 granted post-arrest bail to Imran Khan in four cases, including burning the PML-N office in Model Town, a container near Kalma Chowk, police vehicles in Gulberg, and violence at Sherpao Bridge during the May 9 riots.

BAIL: An ATC on Saturday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of PTI founding chairman’s sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, as well as PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja till Dec 6 in two different cases.

During the hearing of bail pleas related to the Jinnah House attack, the sisters of Imran Khan did not appear in the court. Their lawyers submitted applications for one-time exemption from personal appearance, which the court accepted.

Similarly, Mr Raja also skipped the hearing of his bail in a case concerning the party’s Oct 5 protest.

The court accepted his exemption request as well and extended bail till next hearing.

Secretly, the court also discharged PTI leaders Akmal Khan Bari and Habibur Rehman from a case related to violence during the Oct 5 protest.

The police had arrested the two leaders and presented them before the court, seeking permission to shift them to jail for their identification parade.

However, the court rejected the request after hearing arguments from the defense lawyers.

The lawyers pointed out that the police failed to comply with legal requirements by not covering the suspects’ faces upon their arrest and only covering them during their court appearance.

The defense argued that, under the law, a suspect’s face must remain hidden before the identification parade to ensure its validity. Since this procedural requirement was not met, the identification parade would hold no legal weight, the lawyers added.

The lawyers claimed that their clients were arrested on political grounds and that these arrests were part of a strategy to suppress PTI protests planned for Nov 24.

After hearing arguments, the court discharged both leaders.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2024