LAHORE: A city magistrate on Thursday released on bail all 58 PML-N workers who were arrested for attacking on police outside the office of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz came there to appear in land allotment inquiry case.

Magistrate Hafiz Nafees Yousaf observed that all the offences except the offence under section 440 of the PPC (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) were bailable in nature. However, he noted that the alleged offence did not fall within the embargo of prohibition.

The magistrate said as per the available record, a general role had been assigned to the suspects and no specific injury had been attributed to any person. The magistrate allowing bail observed, "The veracity of the allegations levelled against the accused persons can only be gauged at the trial stage."

The other day, the magistrate had sent all the workers on judicial remand and issued notices to Chung police on their bail petitions. During a day-long hearing on bail petitions, Farhad Ali Shah argued on behalf of the workers that the FIR was false and frivolous.

He said the petitioners had been wrongly implicated in the case. The counsel alleged that the FIR had been registered on political pressure and their arrest was also a result of political rivalry. He pointed out that the petitioners in jail on judicial remand and no more required by the police for investigation. He asked the magistrate to release the petitioners on bail.

A prosecutor however opposed the bail and argued that the suspects/petitioners were nominated in the FIR. He said there was sufficient material available with the police to establish the offence committed by the suspects. He asked the court for an adjournment saying a special committee of prosecutors had been constituted to oppose the bail petitions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020