LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday allowed the police to question fashion designer Khadija Shah in another case of torching police vehicles near Rahat Bakery Chowk, Canton­ment, during the May 9 riots.

Sarwar Road police Investi­gating Officer (IO) Naveed Anjum filed an application seeking permission to investigate Ms Shah in the jail. He said the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to the suspect in two cases related to the attacks on Jinnah House and Askari Tower.

He said the suspect was still in jail because the process of furnishing surety bonds in those two cases had not been completed. He asked the court to allow him to investigate the suspect in the jail.

Judge Abher Gul Khan allowed the application filed by the IO.

ATC denies Sanam Javed’s judicial remand in Askari Tower case

A two-judge bench of the LHC had on Oct 18 granted post-arrest bail to Ms Shah, who is also a granddaughter of former army chief Asif Nawaz Janjua, in the cases of attacks on Jinnah House, which also serves as the residence of Lahore’s corps commander and Askari Tower.

The bench observed that the suspect was not nominated in both FIRs as one of the protesters leading the PTI’s protest rally. It said the investigating officer did not recover any material to connect Ms Shah with putting Jinnah House and Askari Tower on fire.

It said the suspect had been behind bars since her arrest on May 25 and her further incarceration would not serve any useful purpose for the prosecution.

During the hearing of the bail petitions, the police had submitted a report saying only two cases — Jinnah House and Askari Tower — had been registered against Ms Shah.

ATC discharges Sanam Javed

In another development, the ATC denied the request from Gulberg police for the judicial remand of PTI social media activist Sanam Javed for an identification parade in the Askari Tower attack case, and also discharged her.

Judge Abher Gul observed that a report submitted before the LHC by the CCPO Lahore confirmed that only two cases had been registered against the suspect.

The judge stated that the police’s request for an identification parade of the suspect in a new case could not be allowed.

After dismissal of the application, the police took the suspect back to jail.

The other day, Gulberg police had affected the arrest of Sanam Javed in Kot Lakhpat jail after her surety bonds were accepted against bail granted in two cases of attack on the Jinnah House and the burning police vehicles near Rahat Bakery Chowk.

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2023