PTI gets IHC breather in Medina incident case

Court directs interior secretary to ensure Fawad isn't harassed

ISLAMABAD:

In a breather to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the authorities concerned not to harass former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and other party leaders in connection with several blasphemy cases filed against them by the government following hooliganism by unknown individuals at Masjid-e-Nabwi last week.

The IHC told the interior secretary to make sure that the PTI leader was not harassed by the police or any other investigation agency and barred the government from taking further action against the PTI leader till the next hearing of the case.

The court also sent a copy of the orders to the National Assembly Secretariat.

Despite the holiday, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah fixed the hearing on the eve of Eidul Fitr on an urgent basis after the PTI filed a plea seeking a protective bail earlier in the day.

The petition requested the IHC to issue directions to state authorities, the police, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to “immediately stop the unlawful and illegal harassment of Fawad and his colleagues”.

During the hearing on Monday, Justice Athar Minallah asked whether Fawad was still a member of the National Assembly. His counsel Faisal Chaudhry said Fawad had resigned from the assembly but he had not been de-notified.

IHC CJ Minallah said the police could not arrest a lawmaker without the permission of the speaker.

In a comment on several cases against the PTI leaders, Chaudhry said as per a ruling by a seven-member bench the police could not register multiple FIRs regarding a single incident. He said the incident happened at Masjid-e-Nabwi, Saudi Arabia, while FIRs were registered in Pakistan.

Read: Govt holds Imran responsible for Masjid-e-Nabawi incident

The CJ said the court would issue directives to the Islamabad police that came under the jurisdiction of this court.

Meanwhile, the IHC also stopped the government from arresting Shahbaz Gill on his return from the United States. Gill is likely to return to Pakistan on May 4 as per his lawyer.

The counsel representing Gill said that the government had filed cases against his client to settle political scores. In his plea, Gill had said he was “falsely implicated in the FIR in order to harass, pressurize, blackmail, and humiliate” him.

Advocate Faisal Chaudhry read out the news conference of the interior minister in which the former had warned that stepping out of the home would become an ordeal for Sheikh Rashid and his colleagues.

The petition filed by PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry requested the high court to issue directions to the state authorities, including the police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to “immediately stop the unlawful and illegal harassment of the petitioner and his colleagues”.

It also sought the placement on record of all the FIRs registered in the various parts of the country against the petitioner and others on the issue of alleged blasphemy at Masjid-e-Nabwi. It requested the high court to stop the police and FIA from “violating and disrespecting the privacy, honour of the families, and households of the petitioner and preserve the sanctity thereof”.

Read More: Imran distances himself from Masjid-e-Nabwi incident

The authorities should inform “the petitioner of the grounds and reasons for the registration of criminal cases against them, to ensure his fundamental rights to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. And further to satisfy this august court before lodging any action against the petitioner”.

In his plea, Fawad said the FIRs against the PTI leadership violated Article 4 (Right of Individuals to be dealt with in accordance with the law), Article 5 (loyalty to the state), Article 17 (freedom of association), Article 19, 19-A (right to information), and Article 68 of the Constitution.

The interior secretary, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the police chiefs of all provinces and the FIA director general were made respondents in the petition that termed the action against PTI leaders “mala fide”.

The FIRs

The FIRs were lodged on Sunday against former premier Imran and other top leaders of the party in Faisalabad and other cities of Punjab over their alleged involvement in the incident in Masjid-e-Nabwi, where some Pakistani pilgrims shouted slogans against the new government and ridiculed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal ministers.

The charges were registered under sections 295, 295-A, 296, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The sections relate to harming a place of worship with intent to insult a religion, deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious sentiment, disturbing religious assembly and abetment.

Those who are named in the FIR include 150 people – Imran, Shahbaz Gill, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Fawad Chaudhry, Qasim Suri, Sahibzada Jahangir and Aneel Musarrat. Rashid’s nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq were also nominated in the case.

Complainant Muhammad Naeem, a resident of Faisalabad, claimed that the incident at the holy site, videos of which went viral, was a "planned out scheme and conspiracy".

He added that the videos shared on social media and speeches made by the PTI leaders prior to the coalition delegation’s visit were proof of the alleged crime.