PHC grants protective bail to PTI leaders

PESHAWAR: A bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday granted protective bail to several leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and directed them to appear in the relevant courts.

The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad.Advocate Alam Khan Adinzai appeared for the petitioners named Adviser to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Hamid Raza, Advocate Malik Shahab, and Special Assistant for Anti-Corruption Musaddiq Malik, while Assistant Deputy Attorney General Daulat Khan represented the federal government.

The bench also directed Hamid Raza to approach the relevant court for obtaining the details of the cases registered against him.

The petitioners’ lawyer informed the court that after the recent protests in Islamabad and D-Chowk, cases were registered against his clients. They wished to appear before the relevant courts, but they were unaware of the details of the cases against them and feared arrest before being able to appear in court.

After arguments, the court granted protective bail to Barrister Saif, Hamid Raza, and Advocate Malik Shahab for three weeks.The bench also asked the federal government to provide the details of cases registered against Barrister Saif and Advocate Malik Shahab.

Lawyer for Special Assistant for Anti-Corruption Musaddiq Abbas pleaded that the court had previously requested records from NAB and FIA, but the details of the cases had not yet been provided.

Upon this, a representative of the federal government present in court informed that a response had been submitted, and there was one FIR against the petitioner. The bench extended Musaddiq Abbas’s protective bail and asked the FIA to provide the case records. The court adjourned the hearing until December 17.