ATC orders release of PTI MPs arrested after rally

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Islamabad Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain has granted bail to PTI leaders arrested by the police last week under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the newly-imposed Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024.

The court ordered immediate release of PTI lawmakers upon the submission of surety bonds worth Rs30000 each here on Monday. At least 11 PTI MNAs were arrested last week from different areas of Islamabad following the party’s long-waited power show rally in Sangjani.

The MNAs arrested on different charges following the PTI public gathering at Sangjani were Sher Afzal Khan from NA-41 Lakki Marwat, Malik Mohammad Aamir Dogar from NA-149 Multan II, Mohammad Ahmed Chattha from NA-66 Wazirbad, Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi from NA 150 Multan III, Waqas Akram from NA-109 Jhang II, Zubair Khan Wazir from NA-42 South Waziristan Upper-cum-South Waziristan Lower, Awais Haider Jakhar from NA-182 Layyah II, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah from NA-33 Nowshera I, Nasim Ali Shah from NA-39 Bannu and Yousaf Khan from NA-36 Hangu-cum-Orakzai.

While hearing the PTI leaders’ bail petition on Monday, Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain accepted their plea against a bond of Rs30000. Prosecutor Raja Zahid said that the minimum sentence for the sections invoked in the case was three years, urging the judge to deny the bail.

PTI’s lawyer Sardar Masroof Khan said that the sections invoked in the case were not applicable, adding that the district administration had provided the no-objection certificates to the party for holding the Sangjani rally. “The case was filed on political grounds and has nothing to do with reality,” Sardar Masroof Khan said.