Supreme Court Grants Bail to Suspects Involved in May 9 Violence
The petitioners, Owais, Saifullah, Nasrullah, Kamran and Waqas, were accused of attacks and vandalising between May 9 to 10.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to five suspects involved in May 9 violence and stated that the authorities concerned were not arresting the “real terrorists” but are after those who take out political rallies.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail made these remarks during hearing of bail petitions of suspects allegedly involved in vandalising and attacking the state property on May 9.
A number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and others were arrested after protests broke out across the country following Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
A three-member bench, headed by Justice Mandokhail, and comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Mussarat Hilali conducted the hearing of the plea seeking post-arrest bail.
The apex court approved the bail in exchange for surety bonds of Rs50,000 each. It also directed the trial court to give a verdict without getting influenced.
The petitioners, Owais, Saifullah, Nasrullah, Kamran and Waqas, were accused of attacks and vandalising between May 9 to 10.
The hearing
During the proceedings today, Justice Mandokhail highlighted the lapses in investigations and spoke about the provisions of terrorism in the first information report.
“Do you know in what circumstances the anti-terrorism clauses are invoked?” he questioned.
He then gave examples of terror incidents, saying that the Army Public School tragedy and attack on lawyers in Quetta can be categorised as such.
“Fight your political game in the political arena, don’t fight political battles in the courts,” he said.
Justice Mandokhail added that when a weapon is not recovered, then the relevant provision cannot be added in the FIR.
Justice Rizvi then said that all the witnesses were police officers.
“The witnesses can also be policemen, but the evidence should be shared,” said Justice Hilali.
At this point, Justice Rizvi said the accused were also charged for firing, however, no weapon was recovered and no policemen were injured.
To this, Justice Mandokhail said that the investigating officer was making up stories.
He then added that the authorities concerned aren’t catching the “real terrorists” but are after those who took out a political rally.
At this, the investigation officer said that the accused attacked the sensitive institutions after the arrest of their leader.
Punjab government’s counsel claimed that molotov cocktails were recovered from their possession and they also resorted to firing. “A head constable of Special Branch Lahore is also a witness,” he added.
“Should the former prime minister be considered a traitor on the statement of a head constable?” questioned Justice Mandokhail.
Justice Rizvi then said that there was no evidence except the testimonies of policemen.
Justice Hilali highlighted that there is no mention of the attack on the ISI office in the FIR.
At this point, Justice Rizvi asked about the evidence against the accused and if they were identified from CCTV cameras. To this, the IO said that the CCTV cameras were damaged by the protestors.
“This means there is no evidence against the accused but only police statements,” said Justice Mandokhail. He questioned how did taking out rallies become terrorism.
Imran Khan moves Supreme Court to form judicial commission on polls ‘rigging’
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan Wednesday moved the Supreme Court, requesting the formation of a judicial commission to “inquire, audit and examine” the manner and process of the February 8 general elections held in the country.
The politician, who remains incarcerated at the Adiala jail following conviction in multiple cases, has filed the petition in light of the rigging allegations levelled by his party and others in the aftermath of “manipulation and fraud in the election results”.
The petition, filed by senior lawyer Hamid Khan on behalf of the PTI founder, urged that the apex court form of a judicial commission — consisting of serving SC judges holding no bias towards anyone — to “inquire, audit and examine the manner and process of general elections of 8 February 2024 and the developments that took place thereafter of compiling false and fraudulent results rendering winners into losers and losers into winners”.
Khan, in his plea, prayed that “all the consequential acts of forming governments at the federal and Punjab levels be immediately suspended” until the result of the judicial commission’s probe is made public.
“It is also prayed that all that is required to be done in the best interest of the nation, its electoral mandate and constitutional dispensation may kindly be ordered including requisite orders, directions and reliefs,” the plea added.
The government, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (ECP), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have all been named respondents in the plea.
According to the petition, the general elections were “openly rigged” with their results “manipulated”.
“The people allegedly elected and returned to Assemblies are be breaching the public trust by exercising the state authority by way of fraud,” it added.
The plea further read that the country’s Constitution cast a heavy duty upon the ECP to hold free, fair and transparent elections in Pakistan, but the polls were “massively rigged” and “manipulated with the help of Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by the electoral authority with involvement of even the caretaker set ups.
“It has failed to perform its duties as given in Articles 218, 219 and related provisions of the Constitution as result of the elections held on 8 February 2024 were massively rigged through the Returning Officers (ROs) appointed by Respondent No.2 and all care-taker governments were part of this fraud upon the electorate,” the petition added.
It should be noted that since the conduct of the general elections in Pakistan, several political parties as well as independent candidates have raised questions over the transparency of the polling process, which was held across the country last month.
Numerous protests and rallies were led by political parties and politicians who weren’t satisfied with the results, terming them “rigged” and manipulated” by the then-caretaker set ups as well as the electoral body.
