Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar, leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had their bail requests in a case involving vandalism on May 9 rejected by an Islamabad district and sessions court on Tuesday.
Islamabad court denies bail to PTI leaders: Upon the announcement of the verdict, Qureshi and Umar swiftly left the court premises and drove away. As of now, none of them have detained.
Judge Tahir Abbasi Supra earlier heard the bail requests of Umar, Qureshi, and another suspect, Khan Bahadur. Sub-Inspector Murtaza Qamar lodged a complaint, leading to their detention in a case initiated at the Tarnol police station in Islamabad.
According to the court order, the petitioners’ attorney claimed that his clients were “innocent” and “falsely involved” in this case on the “basis of a concocted story” during the hearing.
He said that the complaint was “mala fide” and the complainant and police had a “ulterior motive” behind bringing the case against them.
The attorney argued that they are dealing with “a case of further probe and inquiry,” and emphasized that the offenses committed by their clients do not fall within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which permits bail in non-bailable felony cases.
Considering these circumstances, he implored the court to approve the bail pleas and affirm the previously granted ad-interim pre-arrest bail for their clients.
Court Decision: Public Prosecutor Challenges Bail Petitions as Court Delays Verdict
According to the court decision, Public Prosecutor Zahid Asif Chaudhry contested the arguments presented by the attorneys and urged the court to reject the bail petitions.
After both parties presented their arguments, the court heard them and then deferred the decision on the pleas. The public announcement was made at 3 p.m.
Umar responded, asking for permission to depart early. “I have a flight to catch at 4pm, and it seems I will have to book another flight,” he said.
However, the judge reminded him that he had to be present in court at the time of announcing the verdict.