LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday allowed police a fresh physical remand of PTI Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Senator Ijaz Chaudhry, fashion designer Khadija Shah and over a hundred other party workers in different cases of May 9 riots.
The police produced the PTI leaders and activists, who are in jail on judicial remand, before the court.
The investigating officers of the respective cases told the court that fresh physical remand of the suspects was required for investigation under the new charges added in the FIRs against them.
The newly included charges are waging or attempting to wage a war or abetting in waging of war against Pakistan under section 121, abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty under section 131 and rioting under section 146 of PPC in the FIRs.
Other offences under sections 120, 120-A, 120B, 121-A, 505, 153, 153-A, 153-B and 107 of PPC had also been added in the cases, including the attacks on Jinnah House, Askari Tower, Shadman police station, and torching of party offices of PML-N in Model Town.
Judge Abher Gul Khan granted five-day physical remand of Sarfraz Cheema and Khadija Shah in Askari Tower case and directed Gulberg police to produce them again on Sept 14.
The judge allowed Sarwar Road police seven-day remand of Senator Chaudhry, former senior provincial minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and 158 workers in the Corps Commander House attack case till Sept 16.
The judge also granted seven-day physical remand of seven women of the PTI including former MNA Rubina Jamil in the Corps Commander House attack case.
The judge granted five-day remand of Dr Rashid to Sarwar Road police in a case of violence on Sherpao Bridge during the May 9 protests.
Separately, the judge denied Shadman police fresh physical remand of six PTI workers in a case of attack on the police station and sent them to jail on judicial remand.
However, an anti-terrorism court on Saturday granted post-arrest bail to eight suspects in a case of torching police vehicles at Rahat Bakery Chowk, Lahore Cantonment during the May 9 riots.
The suspects included PTI social media activist Ayesha Ali Bhutta, Naseem Akhtar, Muneeb Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad and Muhammad Azeem.
The court directed the suspects to furnish bail bonds of Rs100,000 each.
Rejecting the charges against them, the suspects had pleaded that the police arrested them from outside Zaman Park residence of PTI chairman Imran Khan on Aug 5 and implicated in a false case.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023