ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday directed the authorities to remove the name of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati from the passport block list, while extending the interim bail of former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and granting pre-arrest bail to PTI leader Faisal Amin Gandapur in separate cases.

ATC Judge Abual Hasanat Mohammad Zulqarnain issued the order on Senator Swati’s petition, in which he contended that his passport had been blocked despite the fact that he was in jail at the time of registration of the case.

He argued that his name was placed on the block list only to prevent him from traveling abroad. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court accepted the petition and directed the authorities concerned to remove his name from the list.

Meanwhile, Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka adjourned the hearing of cases pertaining to Swati’s alleged controversial tweets until Oct 29 after prosecution witnesses failed to appear. The absence of witnesses prevented the defense from conducting cross-examination.

Senator Swati appeared before the court along with his counsel, while the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) is pursuing the cases registered against him over his social media statements.

In a related development, ATC Judge Zulqarnain extended the interim bail of PTI leader and former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser in the Sangjani Jalsa case.

The court also restrained authorities from arresting him until the next hearing. Arguments on Qaiser’s pre-arrest bail application could not be completed, and the judge directed the counsel to present their submissions at the next hearing, and the case was adjourned until Nov 17.

A case against Qaiser is registered at the Sangjani police station.

Separately, the same court granted interim pre-arrest bail to Faisal Amin Gandapur, brother of former KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, in two cases registered at Sangjani and Secretariat police stations. The judge approved the bail against bonds of Rs5,000 each and issued notices to the prosecution. Further hearing in the matter was adjourned until Nov 24.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2025