PTI leader Sanam Javaid re-arrested for setting PML-N office on fire

LAHORE: PTI leader Sanam Javaid Khan was again arrested right after an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore granted her bail plea on Monday in connection to an arson case involving a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) office.

Simultaneously, law enforcement detained the already imprisoned PTI member on fresh charges related to arson during the May 9 disturbances that erupted following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in a corruption case.

Previously recognized as a social media activist for the party, Sanam will now be moved to the Shadman police station, where the new case against her has been registered. The court delivered its reserved verdict earlier in the day after legal arguments concluded on Sanam’s bail plea against the case initiated by Model Town police for the burning of the office belonging to Shehbaz Sharif’s party.

Despite being incarcerated, Sanam, a PTI candidate, has declared her candidacy in the upcoming February 8 polls, competing against PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz and former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq in Lahore.

Initially submitting nomination papers for a provincial assembly seat, PP-150, on December 19, she also expressed her intention to contest elections for two National Assembly seats, NA-120 and NA-119.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected her papers, a decision she challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Appellate Tribunal against the returning officer (RO).

The tribunal upheld the RO’s decision, leading Sanam to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, which was granted, allowing her, along with other PTI leaders like Parvez Elahi and Shuakat Basra, to participate in the polls.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict announced last Friday, Sanam has been granted permission to contest elections in NA-119, NA-120, and PP-150. She is among numerous PTI members who have been in custody for over eight months in connection to the May 9 riots following Imran Khan’s arrest. Sanam faces multiple charges, including an assault on the Corps Commander House in Lahore and the burning of police vehicles in the Cantonment area during last year’s violent protests.