Police fail to produce record: PTI social media activist Haider Saeed granted bail

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Thursday granted post-arrest bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Haider Saeed in a terrorism case after police failed to produce the case record.

ATC judge Abual Muhammad Hasnat Zulqarnain, while announcing its reserved judgment, granted bail to Saeed against the surety of Rs5,000 after the police failed to produce the case record during the proceedings.

The judge expressed annoyance over the non-submission of records by the police.

During the hearing, Judge Zulqarnain asked, “What is Haider Saeed’s role in this case?”

In response, Advocate Tabish Farooq told the court that his client was arrested a month ago under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). He informed the court that some co-accused in the same FIR have already been granted bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

“One day of remand was granted to police by the court, and the accused was not even taken out of the police station—how could any recovery be made?” argued Farooq.

The judge, visibly irked, remarked that the charge sheet has already been submitted—there is no excuse for not producing the record. The police should stop this drama, he said, adding that the police’s dishonesty is evident. They are not submitting the required documents—this is enough grounds for granting bail.

The judge warned “if the record was not submitted within 10 minutes, he would issue a ruling.”

The court took a short break but even after the given time, the police failed to produce the record. The judge issued summons for the investigating officer (IO) of the case and ordered the court staff to obtain landline contact numbers of the relevant station house officers (SHOs) and IOs.

The Islamabad Police have repeatedly shown dishonesty in presenting records, the judge remarked. He also called the case with the IO’s name for further inquiry and warned that “the court may issue a final decision if the record is not presented in the next hearing.”

The judge said the public has concerns, just as the state does while addressing the prosecutor. “I know exactly how to deal with them. These delaying tactics are deliberate—I know everything that’s going on,” he said.

The court after hearing arguments reserved its judgment.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025