PHC extends protective bail for CM, others

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday extended the protective bail of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and several other leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Besides the chief minister, the PHC also extended the protective bail of Asad Qaiser, Shahram Tarakai, opposition leader in National Assembly Omar Ayub, Shandana Gulzar, Asif Khan, Faisal Javed, Zahir Shah Toru, Syed Qasim Ali Shah and Mashal Yousafzai.

The court directed authorities to refrain from arresting them during this period.A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Salahuddin heard the plea of the chief minister.

His counsel, Alam Khan Advocate, informed the court that the chief minister was unable to appear as he was attending a meeting in Islamabad. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Hashmat Jahangir informed the court that only one NAB inquiry was pending against Gandapur.

The deputy attorney general stated that there was no pending FIA inquiry, though 32 FIRs had been registered in Islamabad and 33 in Punjab. The additional advocate general informed the bench that eight cases had been registered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Seeking time to approach courts in different cities, Gandapur’s counsel requested two months of protective bail. However, Justice Sahibzada Asadullah remarked that as Gandapur was the sitting chief minister, the court was already granting him 40 days of protective bail.

Eventually, the bench granted him protective bail until May 23.A separate plea seeking details of all pending cases was disposed of after the federal government submitted relevant information.

The court also heard the petition of National Assembly former speaker Asad Qaiser.His lawyer informed the court that Qaiser was currently abroad and thus unable to appear.The deputy attorney general stated that one FIA inquiry was pending in Peshawar, while 15 FIRs were registered in Islamabad.

Additional Advocate General Nadeem Shah said three cases had been filed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The NAB prosecutor confirmed there were no NAB inquiries against him. The court extended Qaiser’s protective bail until May 13 and directed him to appear before the relevant courts.Similarly, the court extended the protective bail of Opposition Leader Omar Ayub until May 15.