PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday granted protective bail for 10 days to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Sanam Javed in three cases registered against her in Lahore and Mianwali districts of Punjab.

A single-member bench consisting of Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal directed her to appear before the relevant court before the expiry of the 10-day period.

The bench granted her protective/transit bail on condition of furnishing two sureties each of Rs100,000.

Advocate Ali Zaman appeared along with Ms Javed before the bench and stated that she was set free after a year of incarceration in multiple cases last month.

He said that now they had come to know that the petitioner had also been charged in three other FIRs related to the May 9, 2023 incidents.

The counsel stated that two of the FIRs were registered in Lahore and one in Mianwali.

The bench inquired as to what she was doing in Peshawar when she belonged to Lahore.

Her counsel stated his petitioner apprehended she would be arrested on her way to the relevant court in Lahore. He added she needed protective bail so that she could approach the concerned court for getting pre-arrest bail.

He stated that the petitioner was arrested last year after the May 9 incidents and was subsequently charged in multiple cases so as to keep her behind the bars for an indefinite period.

Meanwhile, Ms Javed told mediapersons that she had constantly been under threat of being arrested. She said that the PTI workers were going through worst period in Punjab since the May 9 incidents.

“What has happened to women in Punjab and Lahore has not happened in any other province,” she said, adding that every day they apprehended their arrest.

Ms Javed said that she was charged in 13 cases, and was discharged by the court in five of the cases, whereas she was now on bail in other cases.

She said that all the cases were registered against her under the anti-terrorism law.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024