PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday granted protective bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shibli Faraz and Zartaj Gul Wazir until August 11, following their recent convictions related to the May 9, 2023, riots.
A two-member PHC bench, comprising Justices Arshad Ali and Farah Jamshed, heard the bail pleas and directed both leaders to appear before the relevant high court and file appeals before the set date.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Faraz, along with Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul, after an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad handed out jail terms to over 100 PTI leaders and workers for their involvement in the May 9 unrest. The court sentenced the accused, including Faraz and Ayub, to rigorous imprisonment ranging up to 10 years.
The May 9 protests erupted after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, during which PTI supporters vandalised state property, military installations, and the Lahore corps commander’s residence. In the aftermath, thousands of party leaders and supporters were detained.
Both Faraz and Ayub also filed writ petitions in the PHC against their disqualification by the ECP. Ayub, in a post on X, criticized the ATC’s ruling as baseless and vowed to challenge both the court verdict and the ECP’s decision.
