An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad has ordered the immediate release of all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers arrested following the party’s September 8 political rally in the capital. The court, presided over by Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain, granted post-arrest bail to PTI members who were taken into custody by the Islamabad police, with cases filed at the Sangjani police station.
The court approved bail against surety bonds of Rs30,000 for each lawmaker. During the hearing, prosecutor Raja Naveed argued against bail, noting that the charges carry a minimum three-year sentence. However, the judge questioned whether anything had been recovered from the lawmakers, to which the prosecutor replied in the negative.
The arrests occurred in response to PTI’s political gathering, where leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Sheikh Waqas Akram, and Zain Qureshi were taken into custody. While some were later released, Marwat was held for allegedly violating the newly enacted Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024.
Several other PTI members, including Malik Aamir Dogar and Yousaf Khan, were also detained from the Parliament House but were brought to the lower house on September 12 following the issuance of production orders by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Cases were filed against multiple party leaders at local police stations under the new law, with 28 additional PTI leaders, including Seemabia Tahir and Raja Basharat, also named in the cases.
