PESHAWAR: A single-member Peshawar High Court bench on Monday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader retired Captain Mohammad Safdar until April 5 in a case registered against him here last month on the charges of committing sedition and inciting the personnel of the armed forces to mutiny.

Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar pronounced the order in that respect after Mr Safdar’s lawyer Abdul Lateef Afridi said he didn’t have any records of the case except FIR of the alleged offence.

The lawyer said the police had booked his client over the alleged sedition and incitement of the personnel of the armed forces to mutiny during a media talk he had on Feb 9 after attending the court proceedings about a National Accountability Bureau inquiry into his assets.

He requested the court to adjourn the hearing to facilitate him in getting an access to the records.

His lawyer says he doesn’t have relevant records except FIR

The high court had granted Mr Safdar an interim pre-arrest bail on Mar 10 on the condition of producing two surety bonds valuing Rs100,000 each.

Station house officer of the East Cantonment police station Imran Nawaz Alam claimed in the FIR that he had registered the case against Mr Safdar, a son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, after

getting the government’s written permission.

The PML-N leader was booked under Pakistan Penal Code Section 121 (waging war against Pakistan), Section 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against Pakistan), Section 124-A (sedition), 131 (Mutiny or seducing soldier for mutiny), Section 153 (provocation to cause riot) and Section 505 (statement to cause public mischief).

Mr Safdar has claimed that his media talk didn’t amount to sedition or other offences mentioned in the FIR.

The SHO claimed that Mr Safdar through his news conference had tried to defame Pakistan and its institutions and spread anarchy in institutions.

He added that the PML-N leader also tried to incite people against the government and institutions and create rifts among the personnel of the armed forces and their leadership.

Meanwhile, the PML-N leader told reporters that his wife and PML-N vice-president, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, would appear before the NAB on Mar 26 over a notice.

He said though the NAB had always provided protection to dictators, Ms Maryam would appear before it as she respected national institutions.

The PML-N leader said during his previous visit to the high court, someone attempted to hit him with eggs and even hurled abuses at him but he couldn’t be cowed down by such ‘cheap tactics’ and would continue defending the Constitution.

Terming the NAB a useless entity, he said universities and colleges could be set up in the offices of the so-called anti-graft watchdog.

Following his appearance in the court, Mr Safdar walked up to the nearby Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly along his party workers amid tight security.

The workers shouted slogans in favour of their party and against the PTI government.

Another petition of Mr Safdar has been pending with the high court wherein he has sought pre-arrest bail over an ongoing inquiry by the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding his assets.

He filed the petition after the NAB chairman issued warrants for his arrest.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2021