RAWALPINDI: The AntiTerrorism Court in Rawalpindi, presided over by Judge Amjad Ali Shah, rejected the bail applications of 16 leaders and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), including prominent figures, in protest-related cases registered last year.

Among those denied bail were former Punjab provincial ministers Raja Basharat, Sanam Javed, Mashal Yousafzai and Seemabia Tahir.

Bail was also rejected for Taimur Masood, Fahad Masood, Saad Ali Khan, Raja Nasir Mahfouz, Javed Kausar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matiullah, Nadia Khattak, Omar Tanveer Butt, Babar Lodhi, Nisar Khan and Abdul Waheed.

According to Prosecutor Zaheer Shah, the accused had been taking undue advantage of interim bail for four months while deliberately avoiding court appearances and hindering the investigation process.

Shah argued that the repeated noncompliance with court orders demonstrated a misuse of judicial concessions.

The court was informed that multiple cases against the accused had been registered in various police stations across Rawalpindi and Attock. Prosecutor Zaheer Shah also presented relevant Supreme Court judgments to support the prosecution`s request for bail rejection.

Following the arguments, the court dismissed all bail pleas for non-compliance with court proceedings.-Staff Reporter