RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court granted bail to Awami Mulsim League (AML) president Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday in connection with the May 9 disturbances.The court delivered its ruling after judge Malik Ijaz Asif heard the AML chief’s bail appeal, which was approved for a Rs200,000 surety bond.
The prominent politician was released from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on court orders.
Sheikh Rashid’s bail and subsequent release orders came after he lost his coveted Rawalpindi constituency in the February 8 general elections, having run for the NA-56 seat.
The senior politician was involved in a new case, booked at Rawalpindi’s new town police station, relating to the May 9 violence, which erupted almost across the country after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and deposed prime minister Imran Khan was arrested in the £190 million settlement.
Following the riots, hundreds of PTI members and senior leaders were imprisoned for their roles in violence and attacks on military sites. The AML chief was also one of those charged in the case.
Meanwhile, at the hearing on Sheikh Rashid’s plea, no one from the prosecution arrived in court, while the veteran politician’s lawyers, Sardar Abdul Razaq Khan and Sardar Shehbaz, did.
Earlier this week, the court heard the bail applications of PTI senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the AML chairman, which was adjourned Thursday (February 10).
During the most recent hearing, held on Tuesday, the court denied the police’s request for physical remand of Sheikh Rashid in three separate cases. Instead, the judge acquitted the lawmaker in all three counts.
On the other hand, the hearing on the bail applications of Qureshi and Khan has been adjourned to February 13.
