KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Abdul Qadir Patel managed to evade arrest by escaping from the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday as bail applications of suspects Waseem Akhtar, Anees Qaimkhani, Abdul Qadir Patel and Rauf Siddiqui were rejected.
According to details, a hearing was conducted in connection with the Dr Asim providing medical treatment to terrorists and militants. The verdict on the validation of the application of Waseem Akhtar, Anees Qaimkhani, Rauf Siddiqui and Abdul Qadir Patel was announced by the court today and all applications were rejected by the court.
Abdul Qadir Patel managed to escape the court premises as police were able to shut the doors of the Anti-Terrorism Court. Sources disclosed that Waseem Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui and Anees Qaimkhani were taken into custody by the police.
The investigating officer of the case ordered police officials not to let the suspects out of the premises of the court. He also asked for guards in order to arrest the suspects.
MQM’s Rauf Siddiqui was disappointed with the decision and said:-“We are politicians so are we expected to go to jail? The decision was decided already. This is the worst example of political victimization,” he said.
Waseem Akhtar said that he had arrived from London yesterday in order to appear before the court. He said that today the hearing pertained to either rejecting or accepting the bail application. “Police have closed the doors of the ATC,” said Akhtar. “One cannot be arrested from the court. My lawyers will go to the high court for my bail,” he said.
Waseem Akhtar said that his bail had been rejected on the basis of a fraudulent and fake JIT. He said that his lawyers were not being allowed to go to the high court to obtain his bail.
PPP’s Abdul Qadir Patel said that when he arrived at the court, the entry doors to the court were already closed. Patel said that he wasn’t allowed to enter the court hence he stood outside. “I will consult with my lawyers and then seek the high court,” he said.
Abdul Qadir Patel said that he stood outside the court for a while since the police did not let him enter inside. Only the door to the court’s premises was opened, he said. A heavy contingent of police was deployed at the gate of the ATC.
