A local court in Islamabad has cancelled the arrest warrants against Asad Qaiser, the former National Assembly speaker and a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), after he appeared before it in a case linked to the party's November 26 protest. Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Azhar Nadeem passed the order during a hearing on Friday. The warrants had been issued earlier because Mr Qaiser had failed to appear before the court.
In a separate matter, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) granted Mr Qaiser interim bail in the Sangjani protest case and barred police from arresting him. Interim bail is a temporary release that stays in place while the case continues. The court had earlier cancelled his bail because he did not attend. This time it accepted his application, issued notices to the relevant parties seeking their responses, and adjourned the hearing until Nov 7.
Other cases linked to the November 26 protest
The trial in the November 26 protest case is still pending before the judicial magistrate. Mr Qaiser appeared with his counsel, Ayesha Khalid, when the warrants were cancelled. In a separate case against PTI workers over the same protest, ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra adjourned proceedings until Nov 4 because not all the accused were present.
The court could not record the accused persons' statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). That is the stage at which accused people respond to the evidence against them, so the case cannot move to that step until everyone attends. The case was registered at the Secretariat police station.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Nov 26: The PTI protest that both cases relate to.
- Friday hearing: The magistrate cancels the arrest warrants after Mr Qaiser appears in court.
- Recent ATC hearing: Interim bail is granted in the Sangjani case, and the hearing is adjourned to Nov 7.
- Nov 4: Next hearing in the case against PTI workers, adjourned because not all accused were present.
What happens next
Both matters now return to court on their scheduled dates, Nov 4 and Nov 7. The magistrate's trial in the protest case has not concluded, and interim bail is temporary, so the Sangjani case will need further hearings. Readers should watch the next court dates, since the earlier bail cancellation shows that missing a hearing can quickly change a case.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Asad Qaiser ke arrest warrants court ne khatam kar diye hain, jo unke pesh na hone ki wajah se jaari hue thay. Sangjani protest case mein unhein interim bail mili hai aur police ko unhein giraftar karne se roka gaya hai. Aam shehri ke liye iska matlab yeh hai ke adalat ki tareekhon par hazir hona kitna ahem hai.
