PTI leader Asad Qaiser ‘evades arrest’ at Peshawar High Court

• PTI leader says granted bail in all "illegal cases".
• Wazir Abdul Karim taken into custody, says Qaiser.
• “Police failed to arrest me,” says former NA speaker.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser has claimed that the police attempted to arrest him from the Peshawar High Court (PHC) despite being “granted bail” in all cases registered against him following May 9 mayhem.

“Police failed to arrest me,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Qaiser, who served as National Assembly speaker during the previous PTI-led government, said party leader Wazir Abdul Karim Khan had been taken into custody.

The close aide of PTI Chairman Imran Khan said he has been appearing before the court for hearings in all “illegal” cases.

“I have been granted bail in all cases registered against me,” he said, adding that the police attempted to arrest him when he came for court hearings.

A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted interim bail to Qaiser until July 13 in a case related to May 9 violent protests.

The riots were triggered almost across the country after the PTI chief’s arrest in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 which led to the deaths of at least eight people and injured several others, prompting the authorities to arrest thousands of PTI workers.

During the protests, the miscreants attacked the civil and military installations including — Corps Commander's House (Jinnah House) in Lahore Cantt and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

The military called May 9 "Black Day" and has decided to try the protesters under the Army Act, with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir saying that the legal process in this regard has already begun.

A case was registered against the former NA speaker over the May 9 violent protests at Islamabad’s Sangjani Police Station.

On June 21, the PHC granted transit bail to Qaiser until July 3 in the case.