Bail to Mufti Kifayatullah, JUI-F activists confirmed

MANSEHRA: Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Qayyum has confirmed the pre-arrest bail of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Mufti Kifaytullah and 10 other party activists who had been accused of violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) by holding a rally in May 2020.

The judge, after hearing arguments from both sides, granted permanent bail to Mufti Kifaytullah and other party workers. The public prosecutor, Imtiaz Ali, represented the state in the court and defended section 16 of Maintenance of Public Order and section-188 of PPC incorporated in the First Information Report (FIR).

“The defendant - the police - couldn’t produce testimonials before the court, which confirmed the bail of all accused who were released on the pre-arrest bail after the registration of the FIR in 2020,” said Bilal Khan advocate.

Mufti Kifaytullah had addressed the rally, taken out on May 17, 2020, defying the SOPs enforced by the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to contain the spread of coronavirus. He had urged the government to hand over the bodies of people who had died after contracting the Covid-19 virus to their respective families for funeral prayers and burials. “We have been exercising the freedom of speech, which is not being tolerated by this government, but the court dispensed us with justice,” Kifayatullah said.