LAHORE: Anti-Terrorism Court on Saturday cancelled the interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in six cases related to May 9 violence.
Qureshi has been granted interim bail in six cases including the Jinnah House and Askari Tower attack on May 9 that occurred after the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
Judge Abhar Gul Khan of the Anti-Terrorism Court conducted the hearing. The court also rejected Qureshi’s request for exemption from appearing in the court. His lawyer said Qureshi is under arrest and could not appear.
Earlier this week on Wednesday, a special court established to hear cases filed under the Official Secrets Act sent Qureshi on a 14-day judicial remand in the cipher case.
The former foreign minister was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) earlier this month in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 against him and former prime minister Imran Khan.
The case was registered after an American news outlet recently published what was claimed to be the contents of the diplomatic cable that had reportedly gone missing from Imran’s possession.
The FIA was investigating Imran for revealing the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable and keeping it in his possession. Former principal secretary Azam Khan disclosed that the cipher went missing from Imran’s custody.
Qureshi was arrested on August 19 and remanded in FIA custody for a day. Later, a special court handed him to the agency twice to probe the case of the missing document.
On Saturday, a six-member FIA team grilled the PTI chief in Attock Jail for over an hour in the case. Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain returned back to Islamabad where he presided over Qureshi’s in-camera hearing.
The PTI vice-chairman was presented before the special court amid high security. The prosecutor urged the court to grant the FIA further physical remand. The court rejected the demand and sent the PTI leader back to the Adiala jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
