An anti-terrorism court (ATC) granted pre-arrest bail to Maulana Aleemuddin Shakir on Tuesday — a cleric involved in the Icchra Bazar incident when a woman was harassed for wearing a shirt with Arabic alphabets printed on it.

Accompanied by his lawyer, the cleric appeared before the court, promising to cooperate with the police investigation to demonstrate his innocence. However, he raised concerns about the possibility of his arrest by the police.

The lawyer highlighted that the petitioner was among those who shielded the woman from the hostile crowd and noted the police’s acknowledgment of his role in the incident.

Requesting pre-arrest bail, the lawyer stated that the petitioner was prepared to provide surety bonds.

Judge Arshad Javed granted bail to the petitioner, holding back the police from arresting him until March 25.

Background:

A woman wearing a dress with Arabic writing printed on it was attacked by a violent mob in February, last month. Videos of the incident quickly spread online, showing the mob surrounding her while she was at a restaurant in Lahore’s Ichhra Market.

Some people there accused her of having Quranic verses printed on her dress, which they found offensive. They were angry because of the Arabic writing on her dress, not knowing what it really meant. The dress actually has the word ‘sweet’ written on it.