ISLAMABAD – In a major development related to the May 9 riots case, the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Saturday ordered the immediate arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Latif.
The court, while announcing the verdict, directed law enforcement authorities to apprehend Abdul Latif along with six other convicts who were absent during the court proceedings.
According to the court order, a total of 11 individuals were convicted in the case.
Four of them were taken into custody from the courtroom while the remaining seven including Abdul Latif failed to appear before the court. As a result, the arrest warrants have been issued and handed over to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Ramna Police Station.
The ATC directed the SHO to ensure the arrest of the absconding convicts and transfer them to jail authorities without delay.
Earlier, the Supreme Court granted bail to Raza Ali, a suspect in the May 9, 2023, Jinnah House attack case, against surety bonds worth Rs200,000.
A SC three-member bench headed by Justice Hashim Kakar heard the case.
During the proceedings, the judge questioned the nature of the allegations against the accused.
Advocate Sameer Khosa, representing Raza Ali, informed the court that his client had been accused of injuring a sub-inspector by throwing a stone during the May 9 protests. He noted that two individuals had been accused of injuring the same officer, and co-accused Zain-ul-Abideen had already been granted bail.
Justice Kakar expressed concern over the plausibility of the allegations, asking how two people could injure the same police official and how the same charge could be applied to both. He also pointed out that the officer’s name was not even included in the official list of injured personnel.
Prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi contended that the accused faced multiple charges and that the Supreme Court had earlier directed the completion of the trial within four months. However, Advocate Khosa responded that only the indictment had been framed in one month, and the trial was not being conducted on a daily basis as ordered.
Justice Kakar advised the prosecution not to be too harsh when junior lawyers were handling cases, smf remarked, “You were once a junior lawyer too. Let the bail be granted. Mr. Prosecutor, even the mother-in-law was once a daughter-in-law.”
After hearing both sides, the top court approved Raza Ali’s bail.
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