IHC bars capital police from arresting Quershi and Umar

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has barred the capital police from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Umar and Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Yesterday, the leaders were granted interim bail until July 10 by the court, after IHC judge Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir took up the case. The bail was granted against a surety bond of Rs100,000.

The court also summoned the police record related to both the leaders.

The PTI leaders are caught up in a series of cases relating to the events of May 9, in which PTI protesters turned to violence and destroyed army property.

Following the crackdown on PTI workers and leaders by law enforcement in light of the May 9 riots, Qureshi and Umar emerged as two key leaders who chose not to part ways with their party, unlike a large section of their PTI colleagues who denounced their party membership.

However, Umar did step down from his role as PTI general secretary.

They were previously unable to get bail from IHC when they failed to present before court. Their lawyer Ali Bokhari told the court that his clients had reached the capital city on June 22 but could not appear in the court because of the risk of arrest before bail.

Meanwhile, on June 20, an additional district and sessions judge Tahir Abbas Sipra dismissed the bail applications of Qureshi and Umar in three cases each.

The leaders had to escape the courtroom following dismissal of their bail applications because of the risk of arrest, but then managed to secure protective bail from Peshawar High Court to avoid arrest while on way to the IHC.