ATC sends Omer Sarfraz Cheema to jail on 14-day judicial remand

F.P. Report

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore rejected the request for the physical remand of former Punjab governor Omer Sarfaraz Cheema and sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in the case of arson and attack on Askari Tower.

The court also sent 11 other workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to jail on seven-day judicial remand for the identification parade.

Earlier, 12 accused including former Punjab governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema were produced in the ATC. Omer Sarfraz Cheema was produced in the court handcuffed while other PTI workers were produced with their faces covered.

Investigation Officer Inspector Zaid Saleem pleaded with the court for the physical remand of the accused against whom a case of terrorism had been registered by Gulberg police on the accusation of setting fire to Askari Tower and damaging property.

Sameer Ahmed, Mohsin Azad, Usman Akhtar, Zaigham, Ayaz Talat, Huzaifa Amjad, Anees Ahmed, Muhammad Khalid, Tanveer Ahmed and Ali Ahmed were among the PTI workers who had been arrested.

“Violence is not our party’s policy. We have nothing to do with the miscreants,” Omer Sarfaraz Cheema said.

“I am innocent. I have nothing to do with any act of violence,” he maintained.

“The behaviour of the police towards me was inappropriate and insulting. They kept me moving around in different police stations all night,” he stated.

“I had been arrested by the anti-corruption authorities and handed over to the police,” he added.