An anti-terrorism court on Thursday granted bail to more than 300 lawyers arrested during protests against imposition of emergency rule, attorneys said. The 331 lawyers were detained in Lahore on Monday on charges of terrorism, rioting and attacking public property and police, their counsel Aftab Ahmed Bajwa told AFP.
"The judge allowed their bail applications. They were to be released after paying surety bonds of 20,000 rupees each," Bajwa said. Another 20 senior lawyers and rights activists, said by police to be the ringleaders of the protests, remained in custody, he added.
Several lawyers and police were wounded when security forces baton-charged and tear-gassed lawyers in Lahore on Monday. Officials say 3,000 people have been arrested nation-wide since the state of emergency was imposed.
In Karachi, police registered sedition charges against five lawyers for allegedly distributing pamphlets inciting protests against emergency rule, officials said. The lawyers remained in hiding and had not been arrested yet, police said.