Coronavirus threat: Hamza approaches LHC for post-arrest bail

LAHORE: Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz on Saturday approached the Lahore High Court with a second petition for post-arrest bail in an illegal assets/money laundering case on a fresh ground of being vulnerable to hit by coronavirus in prison. Previously, a two-judge bench had denied bail to him in the money laundering case. Since Hamza is yet to move the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the denial of bail, he approached the high court once again for the relief on the new ground of the growing risk of the pandemic.

The petition filed through Advocate Amjad Pervez refers to media reports about confirmed cases of COVID-19 in prisons of the province. It pleads that the petitioner being in the jail is highly vulnerable to the pandemic. The petition says the LHC chief justice also issued an administrative order for filing of bail petitions on behalf of the prisoners and their decisions on priority in view of the growing cases of coronavirus.