KARACHI: An antiterrorism court confirmed on Monday interim pre-arrest bail of former home minister Dr Zulfikar Ali Mirza in two more cases.

The disgruntled and disowned leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and his aides were booked in four cases of allegedly storming a police station in Badin, abusing police officials, forcibly shutting down markets in the district, trying to kill two shopkeepers, rioting, blocking a road and damaging property in May.

In the previous hearing, the court had confirmed the interim bail of Dr Mirza and others in two cases pertaining to storming a police station and blocking a thoroughfare.

The former minister and other suspects with their counsel turned up on Monday and Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of ATC-I also confirmed their interim bail in the remaining two cases of forcible closure of markets and trying to kill shopkeepers.

Meanwhile, the court also granted bail to six detained aides of Dr Mirza against a surety bond of Rs50,000 each. The hearing of all the cases was adjourned till Sept 30.

The SHC had transferred the cases from the Hyderabad ATC to an ATC in Karachi after the trial judge expressed his inability to proceed with the cases on the grounds that Dr Mirza’s father was his senior as a lawyer.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2015

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