May 9 violence: Pre-arrest bail pleas of Qureshi, Qaiser and Umar rejected

ISLAMABAD: The district and sessions court, on Tuesday, rejected pre-arrest bail applications of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Qaiser, and Asad Umar in cases registered against them in connection with May 9 protest demonstrations.

Additional Session Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, while announcing its reserved judgment, rejected Qureshi and Umar’s bail petitions in a case registered against them at Tarnol police station and Qaiser in a case registered at Sangjani police station.

The three leaders left the court immediately after the announcement of the judgment to avoid arrest.

According to the written orders of the court, the use of force and the violation of public peace and tranquility or the damage to the state property and machinery or the assault upon public officials cannot be covered in any manner under the liberties provided in the constitution of Pakistan. On the day of occurrence May 9, 2023, a nationwide protest was observed which did not remain limited to a peaceful protest, rather, the same became violent, it says.

The judgment further says, even the law enforcement agencies and the armed forces and their installations were attacked in a very pre-planned manner. It was not a sudden provocation and a proper investigation can lead to the conclusion that how this occurrence was planned, the court order says.

It says that all the three accused are nominated in the FIR. A very specific role has been given to each of the accused. The role attributed to accused Khan Bahadur is active participation in the occurrence, whereas, the abetment is alleged against the other two accused/petitioners, it says, adding that both of them being at very senior positions in the concerned political party had definitely the commanding position. “Their tweets and social media messages have also been placed on record showing that they prompted and instigated their followers to commit such anti-state processions,” the order says.

It says that the plea of alibi taken by the two accused, Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has no effect upon the merits of the case, as their direct participation is not alleged in the occurrence. This is pre-arrest bail, which is an extraordinary relief, it says, adding that nothing specific has been argued regarding the malafide or ulterior motive on the part of the police, it says, adding the grant of bail at this stage will hamper the process of investigation as the investigation is yet to be completed regarding such alleged fateful incident. In view of that, all three bail petitions are hereby dismissed and the interim pre-arrest bails already granted to the accused/petitioners are hereby recalled.

Earlier, the three PTI leaders appeared before the court along with their counsels. The defence counsel, Ali Bukhari, during the hearing, told the court that this case is based on mala fide and there is no fact in it. Bukhari read out the text of the first information report (FIR) before the court. An allegation had been levelled in the case that his client had violated section 144, he said, adding that Qureshi was not present at the scene.

He further said the prosecution should provide concrete evidence that proves that his client had incited workers. The same day his client was in Karachi where his wife’s surgery was under way, he said, adding that Qureshi is the vice president of Pakistan’s big political party.

The counsel further said they should prove his client’s connection with this case which shows that he has asked workers to block the road. “If there is any relevant material, then provide it, otherwise this case is baseless,” he said.

The court inquired prosecutor Zahid Asif, “What is the role of the accused under section 109?” There is a tweet of Shah Mahmood Qureshi in which he said, “Get out for the sake of Pakistan,” the prosecutor said, adding there is concrete material against Qureshi.

The court inquired investigation officer (IO) about the evidence against Qureshi and Umar. Umar’s constituency is Islamabad, therefore, people came out on his call, he said.

The prosecutor also requested the court to cancel the bail of another accused, Khan Bahadar, who was present at the scene in order to conduct a further investigation on him. The prosecutor requested the court to cancel the bail of all the accused.

Qureshi came to the rostrum and said that play his video clip and hear it. He stated during his statement he asked workers to stage peaceful protests which is his constitutional right.

The court after hearing arguments reserved its judgment for some time.

Later, while announcing its judgment rejected the bail application of the three PTI leaders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023