The Supreme Court granted bail to five suspects nominated cases pertaining to May 9 riots.

A three-member bench led by Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Mussarat Hilali on Wednesday took up bail applications of the accused suspects nominated under various laws including the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 for rioting and vandalizing Hamza Camp in Rawalpindi.

Last year, nationwide protests and riots took place on May 9 after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the premises of Islamabad High Court. Social media feeds were filled with videos showing acts of vandalism all over the country.

During the hearing, Justice Mandokhail asked, “How is carrying out rallies [equivalent to] terrorism?”
Justice Mandokhail asked the authorities whether they were aware of the conditions under which Anti-Terrorism Act could be enacted.

“Recently, an incident of terrorism occurred in which officers were martyred [in North Waziristan]. The attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School was an act of terror. The suicide attack on lawyers in Quetta was an act of terror.”

Justice Mandokhail criticized the authorities and asked, “Is carrying out rallies or being a worker of a political party a crime?”

The Judge also emphasized that banning political parties and student unions had gotten the country to this point.
The SC later granted bail to the suspects by accepting their bail requests against surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.