Anti-terrorism court grants bail to 153 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers in D-Chowk protest case

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 11 (ANI): An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Friday approved the bail of 153 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers who were arrested on November 26 when law enforcement agencies conducted a crackdown on protesters at D-Chowk in Islamabad, Dawn reported.
During the hearing presided over by ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain on Friday, the petitions of 177 PTI workers were heard. Subsequently, 153 PTI workers were granted bail while the court rejected the bail pleas of 24 workers.
PTI workers were represented by lawyers: Ansar Kayani, Sardar Masroof Khan, Mirza Aslam Baig, Fataullah Burki, and Murtaza Turi. Of the 48 workers whose cases were lodged at the Karachi Company Police Station, the court granted bail to 43 workers while the case of five were dismissed, according to Dawn report.
The cases of seven PTI workers were lodged at the Tarnol Police Station, of which two were given bail while the cases of five were rejected. 10 cases were lodged at the I-9 Police Station, of which bail of nine workers was approved and the case of one was rejected.
Case no 1033 was lodged at the Kohsar Police Station and 28 of the arrested were issued bail while the applications of five were rejected. The bail of all 25 workers whose cases were lodged at the Secretariat Police Station was approved.
Of the 45 cases lodged at the Margalla Police Station, 42 workers were issued bail while the applications of three were rejected. The bail of one PTI worker registered in Kohsar Police Station was accepted. PTI workers were granted bail against Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 5,000 surety bonds, Dawn reported.
On January 3, an Islamabad ATC approved post-arrest bail of 250 PTI arrested on November 26. In January 192 PTI workers, who were detained in Jhelum district jail, were released after ATC accepted their bail petitions in Islamabad.
Earlier on November 13, Imran Khan called for nationwide protests on November 24, demanding the restoration of PTI's electoral mandate the release of incarcerated party members and the reversal of the 26th Amendment which he said had strengthened a "dictatorial regime".
Several PTI workers were arrested in the crackdown while multiple cases were registered against the party leadership. According to the Islambad's police chief, over 1,400 suspects had been arrested by the Islamabad and Rawalpindi police. Human rights organisation Amnesty International has called for a transparent probe into the state's "deadly crackdown" to disperse PTI supporters from D-Chowk. (ANI)