ATC approves Ayub, Basharat's post-arrest bail

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday approved the post-arrest bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub and Raja Basharat, who were arrested in a vandalism case a day earlier. 

Rawalpindi Police had taken the opposition Leader in the National Assembly Ayub, along with Basharat and three other PTI leaders outside Adiala Jail on Thursday.

ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah had ordered Saddar Superintendent of Police Nabeel Ahmed Khokhar to produce the five suspects before court by 7:30pm on the day of arrest. 

However, since the police were unable to produce them, the judge issued a contempt notice on the SP for not meeting the deadline and asked the law enforcer to produce them at 9am today.

Ayub, Basharat, and Ahmad Nasir Chattha face charges in cases registered at Injra Police Station in Attock and Hassan Abdal Police Station.

Meanwhile, Raja Majid Daniyal and Malik Azeem were detained in connection with a case filed at Dhamial Police Station.

All five leaders are also named in cases related to the November 24 protest, which include charges of arson, vandalism, obstructing government operations, assaulting police officers, and damaging public property.

After his release from prison, the opposition leader said that he was kept in "illegal detention" at the Adiala jail police post and Police Lines, where he was shifted on Thursday night.

"I was arrested in a false case but the court has accepted my bail plea," Ayub said while talking to media outside the court.

He said that he also had the protective bail issued by the Peshawar High Court. "The court asked police under which capacity they had the authority to arrest in the presence of a protective bail, but they had no answer to it," he added.

Ayub said that the Punjab police chief, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Attock district police officer and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were responsible for it.

The opposition leader, along with various other PTI leaders have been embroiled in a number of cases registered under alleged terrorism, violent protests and other charges.