NAB offices attack case: Terrorism charges added to FIR against Maryam Nawaz, husband

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Friday granted interim bail to Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar till Sept 11 in the NAB offices attack case. The development took place after the Investigation Wing of the Lahore Police added Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 to the FIR against PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, her husband Muhammad Safdar and party workers.

The FIR was registered in Chuhang Police Station after a clash took place between the PML-N workers and the law-enforcers. Earlier in the day, a sessions court had dismissed bail plea of Safdar after the court was informed that the anti-terrorism sections were included in the FIR and now case falls in the domain of anti-terrorism courts.

Safdar said in his statement before the ATC that police registered a false and politically motivated case against him and others.

The court, after hearing Safdar, granted him an interim bail till Sept 11. The court also sought report from Chuhang police in this regard. As per incident details, a clash erupted between PML-N workers and law-enforcers on Aug 11 when PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz reached NAB Lahore offices.

Later, police booked 300 PML-N workers, including Maryam and 187 others. The FIR was registered under Section 147 (punishment for rioting), Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), Section 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for), Section 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), Section 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt), Section 109 (punishment of abetment), Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and Section 86 (offence requiring a particular intent or knowledge committed by one who is intoxicated) of the Pakistan Penal Code and now ATA sections have also been included.

Rana Sanaullah, Pervez Rashid, Zubair Mahmood, Javed Latif, Danial Aziz and Pervez Malik had also been named in the first information report (FIR).