Daily Times

KARACHI: Karachi’s mayor and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Waseem Akhtar walked out of jail a free man on Wednesday after an anti-terrorism court granted him bail in a case believed to be the last one. The MQM leader had been booked along with Dr Asim, the former petroleum minister and a close aide of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, MQM’s Rauf Siddiqui, Anis Qaimkhani of the Pak Sarzameen Party, Qadir Patel and a Pasban-e-Pakistan leader on charges of facilitating and providing treatment and shelter to suspected terrorists at Dr Asim Hospital. The ATC-II judge approved bail of the city’s mayor and also of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s leader Qadir Patel against surety bonds of Rs 500,000 each. The court ordered them to submit their passports and restrained them from leaving the country. They were also required to furnish an affidavit declaring that they did not hold citizenship of any other country.

The judge observed that since four of the accused have already been granted bail in the similar case by the high court. The rule of consistency requires the same treatment for all applicants. The court issued an order for the release of Waseem Akhtar after he furnished the surety. The release order for Qadir Patel has also been issued.r