Govt moves LHC against bail granted to May 9 accused

LAHORE (PPI): The Punjab government on Monday approached the Lahore High Court against the decision of the anti-terrorism court to grant bail to the accused of the May 9 tragedy. The prosecutor general filed the applications seeking bail cancellation of the May 9 accused on behalf of the Government of Punjab. A two-member bench headed by Justice Aliya Neelam will hear the Punjab government petitions.
On September 23, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore granted post-arrest bail to nine accused out of 63 involved in the case of Jinnah House attack following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in May. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders who were granted bail by the ATC included Sanam Javed, Shah Bano, Ashmia Shujah, Rubina Jameel, Mubeen Qadri, Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, Afshan Tariq, and Muhammad Qasim.
The prosecution had placed its arguments that the accused persons were fully involved in creating mayhem and there was substantial evidence of their involvement in the attack on Jinnah House. It requested the court to dismiss their bail pleas. However, the court accepted the arguments of the counsels for the accused who contended that they had been implicated in a forged case merely to disgrace them despite the fact that they had nothing to do with this case.
The Sarwar Road police had lodged a case against the accused on the charge of creating a law and order situation and vandalizing the Jinnah House following the arrest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman.
General elections: LHC seeks response from respondents: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday served notices to the respondents on a plea seeking general elections in Pakistan within 90 days. The Lahore High Court while hearing the plea moved by Barrister Muqsat Saleem issued notices to the respondents including the Election Commission of Pakistan, the president of Pakistan and others.
The court observed no political party is interested in ensuring elections within 90 as a plea has been moved from an individual. The plea moved by Barrister Muqsat stated that holding general elections in January is a ‘violation’ of the constitution and the court’s orders. The plea further stated that President Arif Alvi should be ordered to announce the election date and nullify the notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding elections in January.
Last month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024. The electoral body was under immense pressure from the political parties regarding the announcement of the election date. The announcement came days after the ECP said it had scheduled a meeting with political parties next month to discuss the code of conduct for general elections.