ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Islamabad High Court on Friday granted protective bail to PTI leader Azam Swati in two cases regarding protests in Attock and Hasan Abdal.
The court's directive, issued by Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, restrained authorities from arresting Swati in these cases for a period of seven days following his release from jail.
As per the court order, Swati is required to submit a surety bond of Rs 5,000 to secure the bail.
In another development, the Lahore High Court barred the Punjab government from issuing any detention orders until December 5.
LHC’s Justice Amjad Rafiq issued the ruling while hearing a petition filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique challenging the legal status of such orders.
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The decision noted that, according to the government lawyer, the government has issued 20,000 such king of orders since 2022, with 4,470 issued in 2023 alone.
The petitioner's lawyer argued that the government used house arrest orders for political victimisation. He called for amendments in the relevant law under Article 10-A of the Constitution.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Rafiq instructed the provincial government to refrain from issuing any house arrested orders until December 5.
He also directed the lawyers to present arguments regarding the legal status of Section 3 of the law at the next hearing.