ISLAMABAD: Acting Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Monday questioned why authorities were seeking PTI leader Shahbaz Gill’s physical custody.
Justice Farooq raised the question while hearing arguments from the prosecution on the maintainability of a plea filed by Islamabad Advocate General Jahangir Khan Jadoon against the order of a sessions court which dismissed an application seeking Gill’s physical remand.
“You are saying that an extension in the suspect’s physical remand is necessary? What will you do after getting the extension?” Justice Farooq questioned.
Gill was arrested last week on charges of sedition and inciting mutiny in the armed forces after he made controversial remarks during an ARY News bulletin. Later, another charge of disappearing evidence and giving false information was added to the first information report registered against Gill.
On August 13, a judicial magistrate had rejected the police’s request to extend Gill’s physical remand and sent him to jail on judicial remand. The same day, the prosecution filed an appeal in a sessions court which was also dismissed.
Subsequently, the government filed a petition in the IHC for Gill’s physical custody, arguing that the ongoing investigation against him and collection of evidence could not be completed without it.
The prosecution has contended that the ongoing investigation against Gill and collection of evidence cannot be completed without an extension of his remand in police custody. At the start of today’s hearing, Justice Farooq asked the prosecution about the progress in the case.
Islamabad Advocate General Jadoon informed the judge of the lower courts’ decisions regarding the PTI leader’s physical remand. He added that the government had taken “serious notice” of Gill’s comments on television that “targeted the country’s institutions” and registered a case against him.
“His remarks were against institutions that have given many sacrifices for this country,” he said.
Justice Farooq, however, pointed out to him that the expiry of Gill’s physical remand and the subsequent rejection of an appeal against the decision not to extend the remand were a “reality”.
He then sought arguments on the maintainability of the review petition rejected by a lower court.
At that, the prosecution’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, contended that the plea was maintainable and cited multiple court orders to support his argument.
Apart from him and Jadoon, the case’s investigating officer and special prosecutor Haseeb Chaudhry also appeared before the court today.
The court adjourned the hearing after seeking a reply from Gill by tomorrow (Tuesday).