LAHORE: PTI’s former MNA Aalia Hamza and social media activist Sanam Javed were granted post-arrest bail by an anti-terrorism court on Wednesday in relation to the attack on the Shadman police station during the May 9 riots.
Judge Arshad Javed heard the women’s attorneys’ closing arguments before granting the women’s bail.
On Ms. Hamza’s behalf, attorney Naseeruddin Nayyar contended that the police had detained his client, who had already been detained for nine months, after the Lahore High Court had given her bail in the previous instance of the Jinnah House attack against her.
He said that the former MNA’s release was thwarted by the police’s dishonest actions in falsely accusing her in a new case.
He requested that the former MNA in the case be dismissed from court and that the police request be denied.
Advocate Shakeel Pasha argued on behalf of Ms. Javed that the petitioner was implicated by the police in a new case in order to prevent her from being released on bail in the previous case against her.
He claimed that although the trial court had granted her bail in the case of the PML-N office fire in Model Town, the police had interfered with her arrest in the attack on the Shadman police station.
The petitioner was not even present at the claimed incident, according to the attorney. He requested the petitioner’s release on bond from the court.
A deputy prosecutor objected to the women’s bail requests, claiming that the suspects’ May 9 attack on both public and private property was coordinated. According to him, the suspects allegedly incited and urged the populace to use violence against the government.
He declared that the trial will soon come to an end and that a challan, or investigation report, had been filed with the court.
The judge granted the applications and ordered the petitioners to provide Rs 200,000 bail bonds for each of them.
On Thursday (today), if Ms. Javed and Ms. Hamza are not detained in any new cases, they are probably going to be released from custody.
In seven cases, Ms. Javed has now been granted bail. She is a contender for the women’s Senate seat from the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In the Jinnah House attack case, 31 suspects were also given bail by an ATC.
