Hassaan Niazi's interim bail extended till Jan 6 in PIC attack case
On Dec 20, Niazi obtained an interim bail in the same case from the court.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – After canceling Prime Minister Imran Khan nephew Barrister Hassaan Niazi’s interim bail earlier for “turning up late” in today’s hearing, a special anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday extended Niazi’s bail till January 6 in the case pertaining to the attack on Lahore’s Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) by hundreds of lawyers on December 11, 2019.
The court has also directed the accused lawyer to submit surety bonds of Rs100,000.
Earlier, an ATC judge expressed annoyance at Niazi when he arrived late in the courtroom while remarking, “You showed up late despite being a lawyer.”
“Law is equal for everyone,” the judge stated, and canceled his interim bail. Hassaan Niazi had offered an unconditional apology to avoid his arrest by the police.
On the other hand, the court extended the interim bails granted to nine other lawyers accused in the PIC attack case till January 6.
The nine lawyers whose bail has been extended include, Abdul Majid, Syed Zain Abbas, Sikander Siddiq, Ali Javed Malik, Osama Moaz, Abdul Rehman Butt, Rana Adeel, Umar Ghori and Chaudhry Muzammil.
On Dec 20, Niazi obtained an interim bail in the same case from the court, and denied his involvement in any offence at a press conference.
During the hearing, he had contended that he has nothing to do with the PIC attack as the police unlawfully named him in the case.
Hassan Niazi said he had wanted to join police investigation into the case to prove his innocence but fears his arrest as the police have been carrying out raids to apprehend him.
After hearing initial arguments, the court had approved the bail for the accused against a surety bond of Rs100,000.
Niazi, was seen pelting stones and breaking a police mobile in a CCTV footage during the PIC attack. He had also taken pictures with his friends outside the hospital.
Niazi, the son of Hafizullah Niazi, was among more than 250 lawyers who had stormed the hospital last week, vandalised property and damaged dozens of vehicles, besides setting ablaze a police van.
Police had conducted multiple raids to arrest him in the attack case but were unable to catch him.
