ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has granted protective bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat in a case filed in Kasur.
Presided over by Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, the hearing resulted in directives to the Punjab Police, prohibiting them from arresting Marwat.
The bail, valid for two weeks, required Marwat to furnish a surety bond of Rs10,000. Additionally, he was instructed to appear before the relevant court within the specified two-week period.
Expressing concern over the numerous charges against Marwat, Justice Jahangiri remarked on his apparent involvement in legal matters across various regions.
“Sher Afzal Marwat sahab, is there any area left where you don’t have a case against you?” questioned the judge.
In response, Marwat indicated that he was facing charges across the country. He clarified that the case in question stemmed from a rally he conducted in Kasur.
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan has, once again, raised objections on the recent intra-party elections of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Alleged irregularities in the intra-party polls held on March 3 have prompted the electoral authority to issue a notice to the former ruling party, sources reveal.
Scheduled for April 30, PTI representatives are summoned by the Political Financing Wing of the ECP to address the concerns raised. This marks the third occasion where the electoral body has questioned the internal elections of the beleaguered party.
PTI submitted documents related to its intra-party polls to the ECP on March 4. These documents, presented by PTI’s Federal Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan, encompass details of newly-elected party office-bearers, the party chief’s certificate including Form 65, core committee member names, and other pertinent records.
To qualify for the allocation of its electoral symbol “bat” by the electoral body, PTI, which elected Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub as its chairman and secretary general on March 3, requires the relevant certificate.
Following its expulsion from the election race due to the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the ECP’s decision, where the electoral body revoked its “bat” symbol citing unlawful intra-party polls, PTI conducted fresh polls last week.
However, PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar has once again challenged the recent intra-party polls by filing two separate pleas with the electoral body seeking annulment of the elections.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
