The Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted protective bail to PTI leaders Shibli Faraz and Zartaj Gul Wazir on Wednesday until August 11.
The ECP on Tuesday disqualified Faraz as the Senate opposition leader, Omar Ayub as the National Assembly equivalent, then-MNAs Wazir and Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza, and other PTI lawmakers following their convictions in cases related to the May 9 riots.
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting the party founder Imran Khan’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested.
An anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad last week sentenced over PTI 100 leaders and workers to jail terms of up to 10 years in connection with the riots. Faraz, Zartaj Gul and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan were among those awarded rigorous imprisonment.
A two-judge PHC bench comprising Justices Arshad Ali and Farah Jamshed conducted a hearing for Faraz and Gul’s bail applications.
The bench granted them protective bail till August 11 and directed them to appear before the concerned high court by that date and file their appeals.
Faraz and Ayub also submitted writ petitions to the PHC contesting the ECP’s disqualification order.
A day prior, Ayub lambasted the ATC’s “bogus verdict” in a post on X, saying that he would contest it and the ECP’s disqualification in court.
He also posted a video of himself at the PHC with other PTI leaders and lawyers, saying the court had given him a few days and bail would be granted to him on filing his appeal.
