ISLAMABAD, Jun 21 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday instructed PTI’s leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar to appear in personal capacity on Thursday in their bail petitions.
The court said that it couldn’t hear the bail petitions of the accused without their appearances as their bail cases already had been dismissed by the lower court.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the interim bail petitions of Asad Umar and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a case registered by Tarnol Police Station with regard to the incidents of May 9.
The petitioners had stated that the police had registered cases to pressurize and humiliate them, adding that they were ready to join the investigation into the matter.
Petitioners’ lawyer Ali Bokhari Advocate said that Qureshi and Umar had reached outside the court premises, adding that there was a risk of their arrest if they came out from the vehicle.
The court questioned that whether there was any precedent when an accused was given interim bail without appearance. The lawyer prayed the court to grant protective bail to his clients so that they could appear.
Justice Tahir said that the lower court had already dismissed pre-arrest bails of the two petitioners and in such circumstances they couldn’t be given bails without attendance. The law was very clear about it, he said.
The court adjourned hearing of the case till tomorrow and said that it would hear the bail case if the accused appeared in person.
It may be mentioned here that a lower court had terminated the bail petitions of PTI’s leaders on June 20, after which both the accused escaped from the court premises.