ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Thursday granted bail to 86 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers arrested in connection with the November 26 protest, ordering their immediate release.

A division bench, comprising acting chief justiceSardarMohammadSarfaraz Dogar and Justice Mohammad Asif, approved the post-arrest bail applications, overturning an earlier decision bythe antiterrorism court that had denied the bail. The bench heard the arguments from both sides and then granted bail to all the accused. PTI lawyer Advocate Ali Bukhari appealed to the bench for a reduction in the bail bond amount, which the court accepted and set the bond at Rs10,000 per worker.

After the November 26 protest, the Islamabad police chief had said that they arrested more than 1,000 protesters for their involvement in the protest, whereas the PTI had alleged that the crackdown to disperse the protesters led to the death of several participants.

It may be noted that an ATC in Rawalpindi, earlier this month, handed down prison sentences and issued arrest orders against a large number of PTI workers and leaders involved in the November 26 protests. The protests ledto the registration of 24 cases against the PTI supporters under anti-terrorism and public order laws.

At the start of this month, ATC Rawalpindi judge Amjad Ali Shah announced that 82 individuals who confessed to participating in the protests were each sentenced to four months in prison and fined Rs15,000.

Meanwhile, a separate case against the PTI workers linked to the October 4 protest was adjourned without proceedings due to the absence of the anti-terrorism court judge, Abul Hasanat Zulgarnain. The accused were present in court but were informed by the staff that the hearing could not proceed due to the unavailability of the judge. The next hearing is scheduled for June 27. The cases had been registered at the Noon and Ramna police stations in the federalcapital.

In a separate development, Justice Raja Inam Ameen Minhas of the Islamabad High Court issued notices to the director general of Passport and Immigration and other officials in a contempt of court case filed by former information minister Fawad Chaudhry. The petition alleged non-compliance with a court order directing the removal of Fawad Chaudhry`s name from the travel ban list.

The petitioner`s counsel, Advocate Faisal Farid Chaudhry, argued that despite the court`s clear instructions, the authorities had failed to act and had not submitted the required compliance report to the registrar`s office. The court sought a formal response from the concerned parties and adjourned the hearing until June 5.