The district and sessions judge Peshawar on Tuesday granted one-week interim transit bail to Khurshid Khan, advocate, charged with spraying black paint on the face of Ahmad Raza Kasuri, federal government counsel in dual office of President Musharraf, in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
District & Sessions Judge Miftauddin Khan allowed the bail on the condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs 100,000 each. The court had directed him that he should appear before the court concerned in Islamabad within a week.
Earlier, a raiding team of Islamabad police headed by CIA DSP Bashir Noon and Inspector Arshad Ali of Secretariat police station, with the support of local police arrested Khurshid Khan, a former assistant advocate general and leader of Pakistan People's Party, from his residence in the jurisdiction of Yakatoth police station late Monday night.
Hearing the reports of the arrest of Khurshid Khan, hundreds of charged lawyers gathered in the Judicial Complex and after the release of Khurshid Khan chanted anti-Musharraf and anti-Ahmad Raza Kasuri slogans. Khurshid Khan was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Ahsanul Haq in the afternoon seeking his transit custody so that he could be taken to Islamabad.
However, the magistrate declined to grant custody observing that as he had already been granted transit bail by the sessions judge, therefore, custody could not be allowed.
After getting bail, Khurshid Khan, advocate, while addressing a large number of his supporters, said that he had sprayed black paint on the face of Ahmad Raza Kasuri on behalf of 160 million people of Pakistan. "Kasuri deserved that treatment keeping in view the derogatory language he continuously used against the lawyers' community and our leaders," he added.
An FIR was registered by Ahmad Raza Qasuri, the federal government counsel, before the Supreme Court, in Islamabad Secretariat police station under section 337 (L) (1), 109 and 34 of Pakistan Penal Code. He has charged Khurshid for the commission of the offence at the behest of Barrister Aitezaz Ahsan, Munir.A.Malik, and Ali Ahmad Kurd.
Earlier, in Tuesday morning, Advocate Pir Fida filed bail petition on behalf of Khurshid before the district and sessions judge amidst presence of a large number of lawyers.
Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) Secretary-General Ishtiaq Ibraheem argued the case for Khurshid and contended that he was a senior advocate of the high court and enjoyed respect among the community. He also argued that there was no possibility of absconding if he was allowed transit bail. He contended that the police had registered the FIR under irrelevant sections of the PPC.
The court allowed him interim transit bail with the direction to appear before the court concerned in Islamabad within one week. Before granting of bail, the whereabouts of Khurshid were not known as he was not produced before the court. The enraged lawyers blocked the busy Khyber Road demanding the release of their colleague.
Later, Khurshid Khan was brought to the Judicial Complex by personnel of Islamabad and local police. The lawyers were pushing the officials of Islamabad police and they had to take refuge in the retiring room of the magistrate so as to avoid any rough treatment by the protesting lawyers.
Khurshid Khan said that lawyers struggle for the independence of judiciary and supremacy of the Constitution would continue. He warned other supporters of General Musharraf to avoid using abusive and derogatory language against the lawyers' community and the judiciary; otherwise they would meet the same fate like Qasuri.
Khurshid recalled that Kasuri first used insulting language against the Chief Justice of Pakistan and then against Aitezaz Ahsan in the Supreme Court. He said that he tolerated all outbursts of Kasuri with great passions but the other night Kasuri crossed all the limits when he hurled abuses on SCBA President Munir A. Malik and its ex-president former Justice Tariq Mehmood.
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