LAHORE -

Anti-Terrorism Court on Friday referred a case to District and Sessions Court after it was proved that the case did not fall under its jurisdiction, as police, being pressurised by the PPP politicians, had wrongly added sections of Anti-Terrorism Act in the FIR registered against the PML-N workers at the time of polling.
Anti-Terrorism Court No.1 Judge Irfan Ahmad Saeed was hearing the case when counsel of accused, advocate Farhad Ali Shah filed an application under Section 23 of ATA and bail application. The learned judge accepted the applications and ordered to release all the arrested accused on bail, with direction to submit Rs100,000 surety bonds.
However, PML-N MNA Sohail Shaukat Butt was not arrested in the case.
Farhad Ali Shah arguing before the court said his clients were innocent and did not involve in any terrorism, rather they were intentionally implicated in the case on political grounds. He said police wrongly put ATC Act sections against them.
Farhad further argued it was PPP’s former Federal Minister Samina Khalid Ghurki, who using her political influence, forced the police to put such sections against his clients including sitting PML-N MNA Sohail Shaukat Butt. He contended there was old enmity, personal grudge and political rivalry which led to such stage; otherwise, he said, there was no terrorism.
He quoted police statement wherein the police had said that they registered a case against Sohail Shaukat Butt and ten PML-N workers after Army men arrested and handed them over to local police on the polling day.
The judge after hearing arguments of the counsel, ordered to release the arrested accused and referred the case to District and Sessions Judge Lahore.
As per details, On May 11 polling day, Hadyara Police in NA-130 arrested ten PML-N workers including Tariq, Abu Saeed, Haroon, Sohail Shaukat Butt, Naseer, Nasir, Ali Butt, Shan alias Shani Butt and Sohaib Butt and registered an FIR against them.
It may also be mentioned here that both Butt and Ghurki families had registered cases against each other which resulted in murder of number of people while many cases were pending against sitting PML-N MNA Sohail Shaukat Butt in different courts.