KARACHI:An Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday granted interim bail to Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM) Chairman Riaz Chandio, Abdul Khaliq Junejo, Yousif Masti Khan veteran author Gul Hassan Kalmati, Murad Gabol, a local resident of Gadap, and six others until 26 June in cases registered under the sections of Anti-Terrorism Act after a protest outside Bahria Town Karachi (BTK) on 6th July which turned into violence as some angry men set ablaze the shops, markets, and entrance gate of BTK.
All accused presented before ATC-1 Clifton branch as their protective bail, granted to them by Sindh High Court (SHC), finished. The ATC Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso heard the bail pleas of all accused in BTK arson case. A team of lawyers’ headed by senior lawyer Shahab Sarki, Sayed Ghulam Shah and Muhammad Khan Shaikh were also present in the courtroom.
During the hearing, Shahab Sarki argued that the accused had got protective bail from SHC which has been expired. He pleaded with the court to grant bail to his clients as they were not involved in arson during the protest against BTK. The ATC approved the bail pleas of all accused until 26 June for a sum of Rs25, 000 each. Firstly, the ATC judge asked them to submit a surety bond of Rs50, 000 but the lawyers requested the honorable judge to fix Rs25, 000 for each. Other accused, including, Jahanzaib, Jansher Khan, Ali Hassan, Orangzaib, Muhammad Munwar, Dada Karem, and Muhammad Akram also appeared before the court. Riaz Chandio was nominated in 8 cases, Khaliq Junjejo in 11, Gul Hassan Kalmari, and others in 3 cases.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh Action Committee (SAC), an alliance of nationalist political parties had held a protest demonstration outside Bahria Town Karachi on 6th July against its alleged illegal construction. During the protest, some angry men set ablaze the shops, entrance gate, and markets of Bahria Town which leads to violence. The police had started throwing tears gas to disperse the protest and arrested a large number of activists.
Later, SAC leaders, including, Sayed Jalal Mehmood Shah, Sayed Zain Shah, Dr Qadir Magsi, Riaz Chandio, and Ayaz Latif Paleejo condemned the violence and said in a joint statement that they had nothing to do with angry men who set ablaze the shops, gate and markets of BTK. The SAC leaders had also condemned the police crackdown against their workers.