LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Friday ordered the Adiala Jail’s superintendent to ensure PTI founding chairman Imran Khan’s attendance via video link on Saturday (today) for the hearing of his pre-arrest bail petitions in three cases of May 9 riots.

Barrister Salman Safdar earlier appeared before the court on behalf of the ex-premier to press the bail petitions in the attacks on the Jinnah House, also the residence of Lahore corps commander, Askari Tower and Shadman police station.

The lawyer told the court that he had to skip Al-Qadir Trust case hearing in Islamabad to present his arguments in the bail petitions. He pointed out that the interim pre-arrest bail of Mr Khan in four other cases had already been confirmed by another court.

Barrister Safdar regretted that another court had decided bail petitions in his absence.

Eleven absconding accused denied interim pre-arrest bail

Judge Khalid Arshad instructed the lawyer to present a copy of the other court’s decision.

The lawyer also expressed his readiness to present arguments for the bails.

Barrister Safdar said he tried his best for the accused to appear in court from Adiala Jail, but later he compromised and agreed that the case be decided even without the petitioner’s attendance via a video link. “I just request a glimpse of the PTI founder via video link,” the lawyer pleaded.

“A glimpse of the PTI founder will be shown,” the judge assured the counsel.

The judge instructed the lawyer to complete his arguments on Saturday (today) and ordered the jail superintendent to ensure the attendance of the petitioner on a video link.

Earlier on March 1, an ATC confirmed the pre-arrest bail of Mr Khan in four cases including party worker Zille Shah’s murder, attack on police outside Zaman Park, and setting fire to PML-N offices in Model Town and a container at Kalma Chowk on May 9, 2023.

The trial court had previously in August, 2023, dismissed the pre-arrest bail pleas of the PTI founding chairman in seven criminal cases over his non-appearance, after he was jailed in Toshakhana case.

Later, the Lahore High Court set aside the ATC decision and restored Mr Khan’s bail petitions with a direction to the trial court to decide all the petitions afresh on merit.

Qureshi summoned

Meanwhile, Judge Arshad of the ATC issued a direction to the Adiala jail superintendent to present incarcerated former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi before the court in trial proceedings of Shadman police station attack case on July 8.

The case involves allegations against PTI leaders for setting the Shadman police station on fire during the May 9 riots.

Also, the same court confirmed the interim bail of 29 PTI activists, subject to furnishing of surety bonds of Rs200,000 each, while denying the same to 11 absconding suspects in the Jinnah House attack case.

The suspects whose bail was confirmed included Asif Zubair, Mohammad Alam, Ammar Bashir, Nabeel Ahmed, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Hafiz Majid Ali, Yasir Yousaf, Shahzaib Iftikhar, Waqar Ahmed, Mohammad Umar, Malik Tahir Mahmood, Farrukh Abbas, Ashraf Naeem, Hammad Hussain, Rehan Shakir, Amanullah, Shahid Mah­mood, Junaid Subhani, Hassan Ali, Zahid Pervez, Wajid Masih, Babar Nadeem, Shahzad Ahmed, Wasim Abbas and Ashfaq Ahmed.

The judge, however, rejected the interim bail petitions of the 11 others who have been absconding for several months.

He noted that they deliberately remained in hiding and avoided court appearance.

They included Zulfiqar, Rizwan, Mohsin Mazammil, Yaqoob, Hashir Meraj, Hafiz Saif Rehman, Rana Ahmed Arslan, Wasim Abbas and Tanveer Ahmed.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2024