ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Punjab minister Raja Basharat until September 8.
Tahir Abbas Sipra, the ATC-II judge, while hearing Basharat’s pre-arrest bail plea in a case registered against him at Karachi Company police station, granted him bail against the surety bonds of Rs5,000. PTI lawyer AnsarKiyani appeared before the court on Basharat’s behalf.
The court issued notices to both defence and prosecution for arguments at the next hearing and adjourned proceedings until September 8.
In a separate case, the same court has sent Suhail Satti, a local Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) NA-48 president, to jail on judicial remand in connection with cases registered against him during the party’s demonstration held on November 26 and the October 4 protests.
Police produced PTI local leader Satti before the court of ATC judge Tahir Abbas Sipra after the completion of his one-day remand for seeking further extension. PTI lawyers Ali Bukhar, Sardar Masroof, Ansar Kiyani and Patih Ullah Burki appeared before the court.
During the proceedings, the judge questioned the Investigation Officer (IO) about the progress made during Satti’s previous remand. “What have you done during the previous 14-day physical remand of the accused?” the judge asked.
The IO responded that we have made some recoveries, but we have yet to recover the weapon used in the incident.
The judge further asked, “Are you looking for a specific item, or are you just struggling to recover anything?” The officer replied, “We are trying to recover an SMG gun (sub-machine gun) from him.”
Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra then asked, “Who told you that he is possessing an SMG?”
The court, after hearing arguments, rejected the police’s request for further physical remand and sent the PTI leader to jail on judicial remand.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025