As many as 81 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters were re-arrested from outside the judicial complex on Saturday after an anti-terrorism court granted them bail in connection with last month’s D-Chowk protest.

Footage from outside the jail showed Islamabad policemen manhandling the PTI supporters as they tried to leave with their families.

Journalists covering the court story claimed that the policemen pushed them back outside the judicial complex. A heavy police presence was deployed in the area, and SHOs, including Ashfaq Warraich, threatened journalists, stating, “If you don’t step back, I will have you arrested.”

PTI workers’ lawyer Ansar Kiani informed the court about the re-arrest of discharged defendants, leading to protests from the families of the accused.

The court discharged 54 defendants from the Khanna Police Station, 16 from the I-9 Police Station, and 11 from the Kohsar Police Station. The court remanded 48 defendants from Kohsar Police Station into police custody for two days.

ATC judge denies police request for physical remand of 56 suspects

Earlier in the day, ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain presided over a hearing involving 56 suspects who were presented in court following the completion of their identification parade.

Representatives from the Banigala, Shahzad Town, Tarnol, and I-9 police stations requested a 20-day physical remand for the suspects. Defence lawyer Ansar Kayani opposed this request and argued that the police had arrested the individuals from their homes before the protest occurred.

“They don’t intend to recover anything from the suspects; the police have merely inflated their numbers,” Kayani stated.

In response, the judge rejected the police’s request, placing 50 individuals on judicial remand and discharging six others. He ordered that the handcuffs of the discharged suspects be removed and instructed the police not to re-arrest them.

Police detained more than 1,400 supporters of the PTI in Rawalpindi and Islamabad during the party’s Islamabad march, filing over a dozen cases against party leaders and workers. The nature of such arrests has drawn criticism from the Islamabad High Court, which has expressed dissatisfaction with the methods employed in some of the arrests.

In a separate hearing, Judge Abul Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain addressed the cases of 36 suspects connected to incidents at the I-9 and Margalla police stations.

The police sought a 30-day physical remand for the suspects, claiming they were arrested on November 25, but no identification parade had been conducted. Defence lawyer Ansar Kayani challenged this, stating, “Their identification parade has not been completed, yet the police are requesting a remand.” He further alleged that police had detained laborers from their homes to “inflate their numbers.”

As a result, the judge ordered the release of the suspects from the two police stations, directing that their handcuffs be removed. He issued a stern warning to the police, saying, “If they arrest them again, I will put the police in handcuffs.”