Anti-terrorism court extends pre-arrest bail of Fawad Chaudhry, others

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Friday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of several leaders and relatives of incarcerated PTI founding chairman Imran Khan in different cases, including those related to the May 9 riots.

The court extended the bail of former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry in five cases till April 16.

During the hearing, Fawad Chaudhry appeared before the court on the expiry of his bail period.

The court extended the bail and directed the prosecution to present arguments on the next hearing.

The court also extended the interim bail of former federal minister Azam Swati till April 3 in multiple cases of May 9 riots.

Swati also appeared before the court on expiry of his interim bail.

Separately, the court extended the pre-arrest bail of Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his wife Musarrat Jamshed Cheema till April 3.

In a separate case, the ATC extended the bail of Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, sisters of Imran Khan, till April 16 in a case registered over an alleged attack on police during the party’s protest on Oct 5, 2024.

Both sisters did not appear before the court as their lawyers filed separate applications seeking one-time exemption from personal appearance.

The lawyers told the court that Aleema and Uzma were required to appear before a court in Islamabad.

The court accepted the exemption pleas and extended their bail, while directing the prosecution to complete its arguments on the bail petitions.

Both sisters are accused of inciting party workers to engage in violent protests.

Media Talk

Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry says that Pakistan adopted a balanced policy regarding the US-Israel war on Iran and the entire nation should support it.

Fawad was talking to the media after appearing before an anti-terrorism court. He said that Pakistan, along with Turkiye and Malaysia, was among the countries which could help restore a dialogue between Iran and Arab states. He said no sensible person could support war.

He stated that the war was the result of mistakes by the US and Israel. He said people in every region of the world were facing difficulties because of the war. He stated that starting a war was a mistake, but prolonging it would be an even bigger one.

Pakistan could play an important role in ending the war, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2026