Court grants Capt Safdar bail in sedition case

GUJRANWALA: A Gujranwala sessions court on Friday granted interim bail to Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar Awan, the son-in-law of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, in a sedition case.

He appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Arshad Mahmood who approved his bail plea and directed him to furnish surety bonds worth Rs50,000 to secure the bail.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against Capt (retd) Safdar Awan and a PML-N MPA, Imran Khalid Butt, at a police station in Gujranwala’s Satellite Town.

According to the FIR, Captain (retd) Safdar Awan had threatened to topple the government through protests and allegedly provoked people against the state and its institutions.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted him protective bail until October 10 in the case. Justice Asjad Javed directed him to join investigation into the case and appear before the relevant Gujranwala court.

In his plea, Muhammad Safdar termed the case political vengeance. He said he wanted to join police investigation into the case and requested the court to grant him protective bail.