A sessions court in Quetta on Saturday approved the bail of Hassaan Niazi, the nephew of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, in a case related to misbehaving with police officials.

Niazi, the nephew of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, was arrested earlier this week in Islamabad on charges of intimidating and obstructing police officers from discharging their duties. He was later handed over to Quetta police on one-day transitory remand after a case was filed against him at Airport Police Station.

The Quetta police registered an FIR against PTI leaders including Niazi under sections 109 (abetment), 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 153 (inciting to riot) and 347 (wrongful restraint) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Click to see more

Today, Niazi was presented before Magistrate Jamil Ahmed by the police.

At the start of the hearing, Niazi recorded his testimony before the court, saying: “My fault is that I am Imran Khan’s legal adviser and I work with him, that is why I am being targeted.”

Subsequently, the judge approved Niazi’s bail against a surety bond of Rs 100,000.

The court also rejected the police’s request for a five-day physical remand.

Later, PTI leader Farrukh Habib, in a tweet, lamented that Niazi was detained in a case in which he was not even nominated.

“Prominent lawyer Hassan Niazi was arrested in Quetta in a case in which he was not even a named suspect. However, today a judge in Quetta approved his bail in the same case,” Farrukh tweeted while regretting that the lawyer of such a stature was facing authoritarianism and unlawfulness.

On Thursday, the Islamabad court rejected the request of the capital’s Ramna Police to extend Niazi’s physical remand in the case registered against him on March 20.

The case in Ramna police station was filed on the complaint of Assistant Sub-Inspector Khuban Shah under sections 34 (common intention), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage amounting to Rs50) and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the PPC.

The FIR alleged that the police had tried to stop Niazi’s vehicle but the driver tried to run them over. It said that upon being stopped, Niazi stepped out of the vehicle, verbally abused the police and threatened to shoot them.