SC approves bail plea of Musa Gilani

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court approved the bail plea of MNA Ali Musa Gilani, who was earlier arrested outside the court by officials of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).
After the arrest, the Supreme Court directed the ANF to produce him before the court within half an hour. Following the court directives, the ANF produced Musa Gilani after which the court began hearing.
The court later on approved his bail till September 25 on the surety bond of Rs500,000.
Talking to media after the approval of his bail plea, Gilani said he has complete trust on the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He also thanked the court for approving his bail plea.
He said that ANF officials, who earlier arrested him, have committed a contempt of court. Gilani said that he has requested the court to change ANF team which is investigating the case.
Earlier, Gilani was arrested outside the premises of the Supreme Court as he showed up for hearing of his pre-arrest bail plea.
The officials of the ANF arrested him after a brief scuffle as Gilani initially tried to resist officials. When Gilani’s counsel informed the court about the arrest of his client, the bench directed the ANF to produce him before the court within half-an-hour.
Commenting on the arrest, Advocate Dr. Khalid Ranjha, the counsel of Gilani, said that the arrest of his client is murder of justice and a contempt of court. He had requested the apex court to take notice of the incident.
Gilani could have been arrested from anywhere in the country but his arrest just outside the court is beyond comprehension, he added.
Ali Musa invoked the appellate jurisdiction of the apex court against the LHC verdict which denied him a pre-arrest bail in the Ephedrine case on September 3.
Recently, the court has granted pre-arrest bail in the same case to Federal Minister for Textile Industry Makhdoom Shahabuddin till September 25.
Ranjha had argued in the pre-arrest bail filed under Article 185(3) of the Constitution that neither his client was named in the FIR nor in any of the challans submitted by the prosecution before the court.