Abid 'Boxer' appears in Lahore sessions court, gets bail in 10 cases

LAHORE: Former Punjab Police inspector Abid 'Boxer' appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge Rehmat Ali on Friday following which his interim bail was approved.

The wanted ex-police officer was arrested by authorities in UAE earlier this year and brought back to the country. 

Abid's bail was approved in a total of 10 cases, including three murder and two robbery cases. 

He received bail after submitting surety bonds worth Rs100,000. 

The judge also ordered police not to arrest Abid until August 4

Talking to the media outside the court, Abid said he is extremely happy at returning to the country after 11 years. 

In a video message released on Thursday (yesterday), Abid alleged that then Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif had lodged false cases against him over a land dispute with his uncle, following which he fled the country in 2007. 

On July 18, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the relevant authorities to produce the wanted criminal in court on July 27.

The orders were given as acting LHC Chief Justice Anwarul Haq took up the plea of Abid's father-in-law, who has petitioned the court to order authorities to produce Abid in court following his reported extradition to the country earlier this year.

Abid, a former police officer, was reportedly arrested from UAE in February this year and later brought back to Pakistan. 

During the hearing, the deputy attorney general informed the court that Abid has been brought back to Pakistan.

The petitioner has expressed fear that his son-in-law will be killed in a fake encounter and sought the LHC's assistance to provide him protection and ascertain his exact whereabouts and health condition.

In March this year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had informed the LHC that Abid had not been extradited to Pakistan through Interpol.

During proceedings, the FIA had informed the court that Abid who had been arrested from Dubai on February 7 had not been brought back to Pakistan.

However, the media had reported earlier that the former police officer accused of various extra-judicial killings and other crimes in Punjab had been brought back to Pakistan on February 20.

Earning his nickname because he joined the police force on a sports quota, Abid had a reputation for his ruthless modus operandi and operating above the law during the 1990s.

He was later charged for various extrajudicial killings and corruption and was sacked from the police force. He had since been a fugitive and one of the country's most-wanted criminals.

According to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, Abid used to kill people on orders of then-Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and fled the country when he figured out Shehbaz was planning to get him killed.