PTI worker granted bail in propaganda case

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday granted post-arrest bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker Haider Saeed, who was arrested in a propaganda case against institutions.

Saeed’s lawyer Tabish Farooq appeared in the court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah. During the hearing, the court inquired from the investigating officer (IO) as to what charges had been filed, to which he said misinformation had been spread and a post of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had been reposted.

Defence lawyer Farooq said these posts did not cause any public outrage, adding: “This is a case for further inquiry…Haider Saeed was kidnapped”. Referring to the decisions of various high courts, Advocate Farooq further said the accused was not the head of any organisation nor had he committed a rebellion. “Unknown people had taken Saeed away. We kept searching for him the whole day,” he added. The IO said the account from which the BLA post was reposted was a verified account.

During the hearing, Saeed’s mother came to the rostrum, saying: “My son is being presented as a terrorist… We are patriotic people”. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its decision on Saeed’s post-arrest bail application and later approved it in lieu of Rs0.2 million worth of bonds.