An additional sessions court on Wednesday granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry in a sedition case lodged against him and ordered his release.
The bail was granted against a surety bond of Rs20,000.
Additional Sessions Judge Faizan Haider Gilani presided over the hearing where the PTI leader’s counsel, Babar Awan, appeared before the court.
During the hearing, Judge Gilani remarked that he is granting bail on the condition that Fawad will not repeat the conversation again.
Moreover, during the hearing, the ECP and the prosecution opposed Fawad’s bail and pleaded for the rejection of the bail plea.
Earlier this week, an Islamabad district and sessions court had ordered Fawad’s medical report to be submitted amid fears of custodial torture.
The police were granted a further two-day physical remand of the former minister last week, reversing the earlier decision of a judicial magistrate, who had rejected the police plea and sent him on judicial remand to Adiala Jail.
Fawad was arrested from Lahore on January 25 for allegedly “inciting violence” against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members and the chief election commissioner (CEC).
An FIR was registered against the PTI leader at the Kohsar police station in Islamabad. An Islamabad court then handed Fawad over to the police on a two-day physical remand.
As the remand ended two days later, Fawad was produced before Judicial Magistrate Raja who had extended his physical remand by another two days.
Following the arrest, PTI chief Imran Khan penned a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial seeking his intervention for the protection of “fundamental rights” in Fawad’s case.
