LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday rejected the interim bail petitions filed by former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and PTI stalwart Omar Ayub Khan in three cases of the May 9 violence.
The court also rejected Omar’s plea for an exemption from an appearance in court today.
His lawyer told the court that since his client had already been awarded a 10-year prison term in a May 9 case by a court in Faisalabad, he could not appear in the court without protective bail.
He further told the court that the former opposition leader had approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) for protective bail.
The judge, however, in his remarks, said that if the PTI leader had been convicted, he should first surrender before the court. “Protective bail cannot be granted to a convict,” he said, adding, “A convict could not even file an appeal before surrendering.”
Omar had filed interim bail petitions in three cases of the May 9 violence, namely the Jinnah House attack case, Askari Tower attack case and Shadman Police Station torching case.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was dealt a fresh blow on Friday as opposition leaders in both the National Assembly and Senate, Omar Ayub Khan and Shibli Faraz, were de-notified following their disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after their convictions in May 9 cases.
