ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Saturday extended pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s former secretary general Asad Umar and ex-premier Imran Khan’s sisters — Uzma Khan and Aleema Khan — in multiple cases related to the May 9 riots.
The nominated suspects made an appearance before the Lahore ATC. However, Umar was slated to attend hearings at two different ATCs. While one of these granted him bail in the Jinnah House case, the other denied his pre-arrest bail plea in the Askari Tower attack case, citing his failure to appear before the court. The ex-minister did not appear before any of the courts Saturday.
The bail petitions were filed in cases including attacks on the Jinnah House, which also serves as the residence of Lahore`s corps commander, Askari Tower in Gulberg, torching of PML-N offices in Model Town and a container near Kalma Chowk during the May 9 violence.
The PTI founder’s arrest on May 9 in the Al Qadir Trust case had resulted in widespread violence and saw important military installations come under attack, based on which the state had launched a severe crackdown against his party.
Sarwar Road police had registered the case of the attack on Jinnah House, which also serves as the residence of Lahore’s corps commander, following the property’s vandalism during the riots.
In August, both Aleema and Uzma had appeared before the joint investigation team (JIT) to join the probe into the attacks on the military installations.
In the latest development, ATC Judge Arshad Javed heard the pleas filed by Imran’s sisters and others in connection to Jinnah House attack case today.
The judge instructed all suspects to appear before the JIT on Monday at 4 pm.
The investigation officer informed the court that the inquiry in the case had not been concluded.
After considering the arguments, the court granted pre-arrest bail to the suspects until January 9.
Asad Umar’s bail rejected in Askari Tower attack case
Separately, another ATC heard the May 9 riots case against Umar. Judge Abher Gul turned down Umar’s plea seeking exemption from hearing on the day and cancelled his pre-arrest bail in the case.
Last month, Umar, who had resigned as the PTI’s secretary general in May, resigned from the party’s basic membership as well as quit politics.
In a post on X, he wrote, “After more than one decade in public life, I have decided to completely quit politics.
“I am resigning from [the] basic membership of PTI,” Umar, who once was a close aide of ex-premier Imran, had stated.
