Court extends bail of 3 PTI leaders

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has extended the protective bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Peshawar Region President and Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Atif Khan, MNA Shehryar Afridi, and Provincial Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru, and has barred authorities from arresting them.

The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal on Atif Khan’s petition.The petitioner’s counsel, Alam Khan Adenzai, informed the court that his client was a sitting MNA and had already obtained bail in the cases he was aware of. However, they have approached the court for details of other potential cases due to concerns over his possible arrest.

Justice Sahibzada Asadullah inquired about Atif Khan’s absence, to which his lawyer responded that he could not appear due to his attendance at the National Assembly’s budget session.Assistant Attorney General Ishaq Khalil informed the court that three FIRs had been registered against Atif Khan in Islamabad.

NAB Special Prosecutor Sartaj Khan added that there was a complaint against him in NAB, while the assistant advocate general stated that the provincial government’s report had not yet been submitted.

The bench gave a final deadline to submit the report before the next hearing, extended Atif Khan’s protective bail until June 26, and summoned a report from the provincial government.Similarly, the bench began proceedings on Shehryar Afridi’s petition seeking details of cases registered against him.

His lawyer told the court that his client wanted to appear before the courts but had not been provided with the full details of the FIRs.The assistant attorney general said that the details had been provided in response to an earlier petition.

The bench also heard a similar petition filed by Provincial Minister Zahir Shah Toru. His lawyer informed the court that his client was a sitting provincial minister and has sought details of FIRs registered by the federal government.

The Assistant Attorney General said no response had yet been received from the federal side.“ The court gave a final opportunity to submit the report and warned that failure to comply would lead to a court order.

NAB’s lawyer stated that no inquiry or case exists against Toru, while the provincial government reported that no FIR was registered against him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The court extended Zahir Shah Toru’s protective bail until June 26.