Rawalpindi (Web Desk): An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday ordered the release of five Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Omar Ayub and Raja Basharat, who had been arrested in a vandalism case outside Adiala Jail on Friday.
The arrests were reportedly made in connection with ongoing investigations into violent protests tied to the May 9 attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ).
Omar Ayub, Raja Basharat, and Ahmed Chatha, were presented before the court after being detained in relation to a case in Attock.
However, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had granted them interim bail, and their lawyers presented the bail orders in the court after the ATC ordered their release.
Azim and Majid Daniyal, who had also been arrested in connection with a separate case involving the Dhamial Police Station, were not brought before the ATC as their cases were outside the court’s jurisdiction. Both were later freed following legal developments.
The police had established a heavy security presence outside the ATC for the duration of the proceedings.
Speaking to the media outside the court, Advocate Mohammad Faisal Malik, representing the PTI leaders, strongly condemned their arrests, labeling them as illegal.
He stated that although the leaders were on bail, they were detained after attending a trial related to the GHQ attack. He argued that there was no legitimate case against them, and they were arrested after a full day in court.
The arrests of these PTI leaders came amid ongoing political tensions following the indictment of party founder Imran Khan in connection with the May 9 incident and other related cases.
Omar Ayub, Raja Basharat, and other PTI members, including Ahmed Chatha, had been arrested outside Adiala Jail on the same day, with the authorities claiming their involvement in orchestrating or supporting violent protests after the ‘final’ call for action against political opponents.
