A Lahore High Court division bench on Thursday dismissed the appeals filed by the Punjab government seeking directions to cancel the bails granted by a trial court, to the five people accused of being involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.
The division bench comprising Justice Rauf Ahmad Sheikh and Justice Shahid Hameed Dar was hearing the matter.
The Punjab prosecution department submitted in the appeal that an anti-terrorism court had granted bail to the accused, including Obaidullah, Obaid-ur-Rehman alias Zubair, Mohsin Rasheed and Ibrahim Khalil, nominated for their involvement in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009. The prosecution termed it an act of leniency towards alleged terrorists who damaged the image of the country by attacking the Sri Lankan team.
It was contended that terrorists could not be given the relief of bail under the law as it would send the wrong message to the cricket team which was subjected to the attack and to the rest of the world.
The government pleaded the court to cancel the bail of the accused.
However, the bench, after hearing the arguments of both the parties dismissed the appeals.
The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked on March 3, 2009, while on a visit to Lahore when a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers was fired at with AK-47 rifles, rockets and hand grenades by 12 gunmen, near the Liberty Square. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second test against the Pakistani cricket team.
