Islamabad court dismisses bail pleas of Qureshi, Umar and Qaiser

A district and sessions court in Islamabad dismissed on Tuesday bail pleas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Qaiser and Asad Umar — in cases related to the May 9 riots.

Dramatic scenes were witnessed in the court as all three PTI leaders slipped from the courtroom soon after their petitions were rejected by the judge.

Additional Sessions Judge Tahir Abbas Supra while pronouncing the verdict dismissed the bail petitions of the PTI leaders.

As per details, Qureshi and Umar moved the court seeking bail in a case filed against them at the Tarnol Police Station in the federal capital. Qaiser, however, sought bail in a case registered against him at the Sangjani Police Station.

The PTI leaders reached the court separately. In a bid to avoid arrest and make sure of their successful escape, Qureshi and Umar heard the verdicts while standing at the doorstep of the courtroom. As soon as the judge rejected their bail pleas, the duo hurriedly moved to the same vehicle and managed to run away from the scene.

Qaiser, however, left the courtroom moments before the judge pronounced the verdict which was reserved earlier.

It is pertinent to mention here that PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 and subsequent violent protests, during which unruly supporters and workers stormed and torched state installations almost across the country, unleashed a mass exodus of leaders from the former ruling party.

The nearly three-day-long protests also claimed at least 8 lives and injured dozens of others with the incumbent coalition government suspending internet services and deploying army troops to maintain law and order situation.

Following the unprecedented attacks on defence and public properties, the crackdown was launched on the PTI to detain the suspect involved in the vandalism with the country’s top civil-military leadership vowing to try rioters under relevant laws of the country including the Army Act.

Hours after his release from Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) order, Umar on May 24 quitted the party positions.

"Given the current situation [...] after May 9, it is not personally possible for me to continue performing my party leadership duties," the former federal minister had said.

"I am resigning as the secretary general of PTI and as the core committee member. One of the reasons why is [...] I am outspoken and I cannot issue personal statements if I hold an office."

The PTI vice chairman — who was taken into custody in the wee hours on May 11 after the police raided Gilgit-Baltidstan House in Islamabad — was released on June 6 on the court’s order.

"I want to tell PTI workers that the 'flag of justice' is in my hands and I am still part of this movement," he said while addressing the media outside the Adiala Jail soon after being released.

However, Qaiser’s status was unclear with confusion around whether he has quit the party or not after former PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Pervez Khattak announced quitting party positions in a joint presser during which the former speaker was also seated but remained silent. Khattak cited May 9 mayhem as the reason behind his decision.

On June 5, the former National Assembly speaker clarified that he was standing with the party and is currently in contact with the party chairman.