A district and sessions court in the Punjab capital approved extension in interim bails of several leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a case regarding the death of a PTI worker Ali Bilal alias Zille Shah. Additional Sessions Judge Muhammad Bilal Baig has extended the bail for Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mahmoodur Rashid and other PTI leaders, who also appeared in the court, till April 13. He also approved the pleas filed by Farrukh Habib, and Fawad Chaudhry seeking one-day exemption from appearance in the case.

The judge has granted the bail to the PTI bigwigs against surety bonds worth Rs100,000. During the hearing, the PTI leaders contended that they had been booked in a baseless case. “We are not joining the investigation out of fear of being arrested,” they said while pleading the court for extension in their interim bails.

However, the prosecutor argued that the case was registered against the leaders of the Imran Khan’s party for concealing the facts related to the death of the PTI worker. After hearing the arguments, the judge extended their bails till April 13. The case was registered against the PTI leaders on the complaint of the investigating officer for concealing facts and evidence regarding Ali Bilal’s death. Though, the Lahore police had said that Zille Shah died in a road accident.

On the other side, PTI claimed that Ali Bilal died during police custody when he was captured during a crackdown party workers and supporters protesting near Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence on March 8. It is recalled that IGP Punjab Usman Anwar has rejected the allegations.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP