Court grants police two-day custody of Gill

ISLAMABAD (APP): A judicial magistrate of Islamabad on Monday granted the police a two-day physical remand of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill while rejecting the request of his lawyers for judicial remand in the sedition case. The court also granted permission to Gill for meeting his family and legal team.
Shahbaz Gill was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Malik Amaan by the police amid foolproof security arrangements. The court was informed that the case file was with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as an identical was also being heard there. The defence lawyers said the IHC had ordered that Gill should be allowed to meet his legal team.
The judge said he would pass an order after viewing the verdict. He observed that it was good that Gill’s health had improved.
After a recession in hearing, Gill’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry appeared and said the IHC had reserved its verdict. He claimed that the police were requesting physical remand of his client so that he could be tortured.
The judge remarked that he would take a decision after seeing the file now. Babar Awan Advocate said that the high court had not kept any record of the investigation, as only a writ petition was with it.
Faisal Chaudhry Advocate told the court about the history of the case. He claimed that ” the script was taken from three places to register the case”. Almost 15 days lapsed after the registration of the case, but an interim challan was not submitted, he added.
He said accused Shahbaz Gul had been in the police custody since the first day, which, he alleged, tortured him. They had brought everything into the knowledge of high court, he added. Baber Awan said the accused should be allowed to meet his lawyers as he was in the custody of Islamabad Police for the last 13 days. It was not known where Shahbaz Gill was kept, he claimed.
He said the third round of remand had started. Shehbaz Gill was arrested by breaking his car windows. What the prosecution wanted to recover from his client, who had given a beeper through a landline number, he asked. Baber Awan argued that as per the constitution an accused should be arrested, investigated and then decision should be left on the court. The PTI legal team also presented the medical report of Gill taken in the Adiala Jail.
Babar Awan said Shahbaz Gill could not help in arresting someone else as he was not an agent.
Special Public Prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi read out the order of Additional Sessions Judge Farrukh Ali Khan. The two-day physical remand of the accused could not be terminated he stayed in hospital, he said. Abbasi said he did not support any sort of physical torture on the accused.The physical remand would start only when the court would issue an order in that regard.
The prosecution had yet to conclude investigation and for that it required physical remand of the accused, he argued.
Shahbaz Gill, who was brought before the court again, alleged that for the last five days he was not allowed to change the dress and take a bath. He claimed that he had been on hunger strike for the last four days, but was being fed forcibly. He was better but not very well, he added. He claimed that he did not speak against my institution, and he and he and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were patriotic. The court said it was passing an order for his meeting with the family and legal team. After arguments of the lawyers were completed, the court reserved the decision, which announced later. It rejected Shahbaz’s request for judicial remand and granted the police his two-day physical remand.
The court directed the police to submit a report after completing the investigation. It also ordered the police investigating officer to provide full medical facilities to Shahbaz GiIl.