A sessions court in Lahore on Saturday restrained police from arresting Capt (r) Safdar, the husband of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, after accepting his application for a pre-arrest bail.
Police had on Wednesday booked Safdar and 14 other PML-N workers for hurling threats at policemen during the court appearance of party leaders. According to the FIR, on the occasion of court appearance of Maryam and Hamza Shahbaz, some 15 PML-N workers, including Safdar, hurled threats at policemen and interfered in their official work. It said Safdar snatched a baton from a policeman and tried to attack him with it.
On Thursday, Safdar filed an application for pre-arrest bail in the sessions court, saying the FIR against him and other party workers had been registered “with mala fide intention and ulterior motive”.
The PML-N workers were booked under Sections 186, 147, 149 and 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Additional Sessions Judge Tajammul Shahzad Chaudhry approved his interim pre-arrest bail against a surety bond of Rs 50,000. The judge directed the PML-N leader to appear at each hearing of the case and join the police investigation as and when required.
The court also sought a report of the case against Safdar from Islampura police station. The hearing of the case was adjourned until September 7.
