Facilitating Hassan Niazi: Ali Zaidi, Haleem Adil Sheikh indicted

KARACHI: The Judicial Magistrate South court on Tuesday indicted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Sheikh and former PTI leader Ali Zaidi for facilitating Hassan Niazi to flee from Karachi’s city court, ARY News reported.

Haleem Adil Sheikh and Ali Zaidi appeared before the court, where both the former lawmakers were charged frame for attempting to get a detained PTI leader, Hassan Niazi freed during his court appearance.

Both Zaidi and Haleem Adil pleaded not guilty in the case.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case till January 06 and summoned the witnesses for the next hearing.

It is pertinent to mention here that a case has been registered against both the accused in the City Court police station.

Earlier to this, the returning officer (RO) of NA-238 Karachi rejected the nomination papers of PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh.

The nomination papers were rejected after three residents of the constituency, NA-238 Karachi, filed objections against Haleem Adil Sheikh.

The objections noted that the PTI leader was involved in the May 9 riots – the events wherein military installations were attacked following the arrest of party supremo Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, Adil’s lawyer announced the challenge to the RO’s decision in the Sindh High Court (SHC).

The election process entered its second phase with the returning officers (ROs) embarking upon the weeklong task of scrutinising the thousands of nomination papers filed during the December 22-24 period for the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies.

The process of scrutiny of the nomination papers would continue until December 30 after which the candidates could challenge the decisions of the returning officers, if any, in appellate tribunals until January 3, 2024, which would be decided by January 10, according to the election schedule.