An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Saturday rejected bail applications of former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The judge, after hearing both parties, dismissed Chaudhry’s interim bail over non-appearance.
On the other hand, in cases related to May 9 violence, Judge Abhar Gul also ordered the bail cancellation of Qureshi and Chaudhry while announcing the verdict. The court dismissed the bail on the grounds of non-compliance. It is pertinent to note that both leaders had their bails dismissed under cases 366/23 and 367/23 registered at the Model Town police station.
The ATC also dismissed Qureshi’s application for interim bail and exemption from court appearance in two cases registered against him at the Kahna police station over a no-show.
Qureshi’s counsel Ali Bukhari had filed two different pleas seeking a day’s exemption from court appearance as his client is currently in jail in the cypher case.
During the hearing, the prosecutor requested the court to reject Qureshi’s bail plea. Bukhari advocated that his client was “not absent intentionally, but he has been sent to jail on court orders”.
“A judge has to judge by looking at the whole picture,” he said, maintaining that he was not asking for “extraordinary relief” for his client but an exemption from attendance.