Pak court extends disgruntled PPP leader's bail for a week

A Pakistani court today accepted a plea by disgruntled PPP leader and former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza, granting extension of his protective bail for a week in connection with cases filed under anti-terrorism laws.
The Sindh High Court asked authorities not to arrest Mirza, a former central executive committee member of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), during the period of his bail and ordered the provincial government to provide fool-proof security to the former minister.
Earlier, 24 guards of Mirza were arrested outside the court after a brawl between the guards and masked personnel of the Special Security Unit.
Television footage showed the masked men beating up the guards with sticks and boots and hauling them into waiting cars.

Mirza's wife, former speaker of the National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, said: "My husband's life is in danger and what happened today is the murder of democracy."
Miza was accompanied by his wife at the court.

Earlier this month, Mirza and his associates were booked in three cases under the Anti-Terrorism Act on charges of attempted murder, attacking a police station and forcible closure of shops in a market in Badin district.
The cases were filed against him by the Sindh Government after his return from Dubai last month. Mirza claims all cases against him are politically motivated.
Since his return, Mirza has launched a scathing attack on former president Asif Ali Zardari and allegedly abused PPP leaders.

Mirza had claimed that there were "serious differences" between party co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto and his father Asif Ali Zardari.