KARACHI: A sessions court on Friday granted bail to former Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Saleem Shahzad in two more cases registered against him in 1992.

Saleem Shahzad was nominated in two cases pertaining to an attack on the house of a brother of Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi chairman Afaq Ahmed and the murder of MQM-H worker Shoaibullah in Landhi.

The suspect, through his lawyer, moved bail applications before an additional district and sessions judge (East). The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, granted him bail in the murder case against a surety bond of Rs1 million. In the second case, the surety amount was set at Rs500,000.

The former MQM leader was arrested shortly after he landed at Karachi airport from Dubai on Feb 6. He was sent to prison the following day in a case pertaining to providing shelter and treatment to alleged terrorists at Dr Asim Hussain’s hospital. Later the court granted him bail in that case.

However, jail authorities did not release him since police had also shown him arrested in four other cases registered in 1992 at Malir and Landhi police stations. The court had already granted him bail in the other two cases.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017