Four female activists associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who were recently released from Kot Lakhpat Jail, have been rearrested outside the prison premises. This comes in connection with an FIR registered at Sarwar Road Police Station regarding their alleged involvement in creating a law and order disturbance and attacking Jinnah House following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan on May 9.
The individuals taken into custody have been identified as Sanam Javed, Afshan Tariq, Ashmia Shujah, and Shah Bano Gorchani. They were transported in a prison van and subsequently transferred to a women’s police station. During the transportation, Sanam Javed exclaimed, “again arrest,” confirming her detention.
Earlier on the same day, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore had issued their release orders after the accused had provided their surety bonds. Notably, there was a significant police presence outside Kot Lakhpat Jail during their initial release.
However, reports suggest that the four female activists may face further arrests following their recent detention.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has decided to challenge the bail granted to those allegedly involved in the attack on Jinnah House in the high court. Consultations for the preparation of an application in this regard are currently underway.
Read more: IHC orders authorities to shift Imran Khan from Attock to Adiala jail
In a related development, an ATC granted post-arrest bail to nine out of 63 accused individuals and dismissed the pleas of 39 others who were allegedly involved in creating a law and order situation on May 9. Judge Arshad Javed granted bail to Sanam Javed, Shah Bano Gorchani, Ashmia Shujah, Rubina Jameel, Mubeen Qadri, Syed Faisal Akhtar, Ali Hassan, Afshan Tariq, and Muhammad Qasim. The ATC judge has fixed the next date for the pre-arrest bail of the remaining 13 accused for further proceedings.
The prosecution has argued that the accused were involved in creating a law and order situation and presented substantial evidence of their involvement in the attack on Jinnah House, requesting the court to dismiss their bail pleas. However, the counsels for the accused contended that their clients had been falsely implicated in a fabricated case to humiliate them, despite having no connection to the incident. They requested the court to grant bail.
The Sarwar Road police had initially registered an FIR against the accused for allegedly creating chaos and attacking Jinnah House following the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan.
It’s worth noting that last week, the charge of sedition was added to the cases against all the suspects, including PTI Chairman Imran Khan, for their alleged involvement in the May 9 mayhem. This addition was a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings. The police asserted that despite Imran Khan’s absence at the scene of the May 9 events, there was evidence of him inciting his activists and planning a rebellion against the state.
The events of May 9 involved protesters, purportedly associated with PTI, vandalizing public and state properties, and even attacking the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and Lahore’s Jinnah House, where the city’s corps commander was residing. These actions occurred shortly after paramilitary Rangers arrested Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, which was later renamed as the National Crime Agency £190 million scandal, on the orders of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court premises.