Suspects denied bail in Ayat Noor case

Bail applications filed by suspects arrested in the five-year-old Ayat Noor brutal murder case have been rejected, while the police investigation team has declared three arrested suspects innocent. The children's parents protested against the police, blocked Hattar Road and demanded action against police officials and officers over what they described as inhuman and un-Islamic treatment of the children. On Thursday, bail applications of three arrested suspects, Talha, Usman and Qasim, in the five-year-old Ayat Noor murder and brutality case were filed in a local court in Haripur, which rejected them. On the occasion, Ayat Noor's father Shafiq also appeared and did not raise any objection to the granting of bail. However, after arguments by the lawyers, the honourable court dismissed the bail applications. Following the arrest of 11-year-old minor suspect Hassan in the case, the investigation team and heirs have declared the three suspects innocent, further complicating the Ayat Noor case. The parents came out of the court and blocked Hattar Road during a protest. Following the investigation team and Ayat Noor's father, Shafiq, announcing that the arrested suspects had been declared innocent, the protesters questioned why the bail applications of alleged suspects Talha, Usman and Qasim were dismissed. Relatives of the three children blocked Hattar Road and protested, demanding immediate release of their innocent children. The parents also alleged that their children were subjected to sexual abuse among themselves during custody and staged a strong protest against the police. They demanded action against police officials and officers who had implicated innocent children in the case. Later, the children's parents and other citizens dispersed peacefully. Human rights activist and lawyer Jawad Habib Naqshbandi, while giving his legal opinion outside the court on the Ayat Noor case, said the case could have become a source of pride for the police but had instead been turned into a stain. He said the case should have gone to the United Nations. Former city nazim Ishtiaq Ahmed, who was leading the protest at the forefront in the Ayat Noor case, while speaking to the media outside the judicial complex, demanded that justice be provided to Ayat Noor's father. Meanwhile, sources said the Additional Sessions Judge had rejected the bail applications of the three suspects, while the parents had decided to approach the high court.