May 9 cases: PHC dismisses pleas seeking to cancel PTI leaders’ bail

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday dismissed petitions filed by the previous caretaker provincial government seeking cancellation of bails granted to more than 200 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers, including MNA Asad Qaiser, provincial minister Aftab Alam, Faisal Khan, and Shakeel Khan, in connection with the May 9 violence cases.

A single bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah heard the petitions.During the proceedings, Additional Advocate General Niaz Muhammad and AAG Abdul Rauf Afridi appeared before the court and informed the bench that the bail cancellation pleas had been filed during the caretaker government in 2023.

They argued that the respondents had been nominated in cases relating to protests held on May 9, during which public and private properties were allegedly damaged, anti-state speeches were delivered, and slogans were chanted against security forces. The accused also faced charges of arson, rioting, and vandalism, with several anti-terrorism cases registered against them.

However, the court was told that the accused had already been granted bail by lower courts, and the caretaker government had later filed appeals seeking cancellation of those bail orders.The government’s counsel admitted that no identification parade had been conducted, no illegal material was recovered from the accused, and there was no CCTV footage available to prove their presence at the scenes of unrest. It was also revealed that some of the accused had already been acquitted, while others were facing ongoing trials.