KARACHI: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) accepted interim bail plea of President of PTI Sindh Chapter Ali Zaidi here on Friday, barring police from arresting him.
Zaidi and other PTI workers and leaders were book under terrorism and other charges after rival political activists clashed outside the Keamari deputy commissioner’s (DC) Wednesday evening.
Also read: Police book Ali Zaidi, other PTI leaders in terror case after LG poll protest
The clashes between workers of political parties erupted following Sunday’s local government elections, the contentious results of which were called into question by the PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami, whose workers took to the streets.
PTI and PPP workers clashed outside the Keamari DC office on Wednesday evening, where the PTI accused the PPP of attacking its workers while the Keamari DC maintained that PTI workers forcibly entered the office and harassed staff.
Also read: PTI rejects Karachi LG polls results, accuses ECP of directly involved in rigging
PTI workers took to social media and posted series of videos purporting to show PPP workers hurling stones at them in the presence of local police.
Site-A police registered FIR against Ali Zaidi and others under Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-terrorism Act, 2017 along with Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd), 506-b (punishment for criminal intimidation), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) 1860.
Also read: PTI, JI react on MQM’s boycott of LG elections
Ali Zaidi, taking to Twitter, alleged “Attack on us! Our people get injured! Media personal get injured! And they cut FIR’s on us! “
Attack on us!
Our people get injured!
Media personal get injured!
And they cut FIR’s on us!#ZardariMafia at work! pic.twitter.com/LQb0UBaqjc— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) January 18, 2023
Zaidi approached the ATC court here on Friday after which he got interim bail, as the court ordered to submit surety bonds of Rs. 30,000, restraining police from arresting him till January 28. It may be added here that other PTI leaders including Bilal Ghaffar and Saeed Afridi have already secured bail before arrest.
