LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Friday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of PTI MPA Imtiaz Mahmood Sheikh, its Lahore General Secretary Awais Younas and others till Jan 14 in the cases related to the May 9 riots.

ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gil heard the petitions of the PTI leaders as they appeared on expiry of their bail.

The defence lawyers sought more time for concluding arguments.

However, the judge questioned the need for more time, noting that the police record had already been submitted and the investigation was complete.

The lawyers stated that they had not yet received copies of the case records and needed more time to prepare arguments.

The judge gave a final opportunity to the defence to present arguments on the next hearing. The bail petitions were filed in cases of attacks on the Jinnah House and Askari Tower.

Judge Gill also expressed his displeasure over the absence of the counsel for PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and gave a last opportunity to him to present arguments on the post-arrest bail petitions in the May 9 cases.

The judge observed that the courts are held responsible for delaying decisions while lawyers themselves fail to attend the hearings. He noted that the counsel for the petitioner skipped several previous hearings. He warned that this would be the final opportunity.

“If petitioner’s lawyer fails to appear on the next hearing, the court will decide the matter in his absence,” the judge maintained and adjourned the hearing till Jan 22.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025