Court rejects police plea for extension in Gill’s remand

Sends PTI leader on judicial remand to jail

ISLAMABAD:

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Friday rejected the police’s request for an extension in the remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shahbaz Gill and sent him to jail on physical remand on charges of inciting ranks and files of armed forces towards revolt.

Gill was arrested on Tuesday afternoon at Bani Gala Chowk in Islamabad after a video clip of his controversial remarks went viral on social media. He was subsequently booked on charges of inciting mutiny in the military.

Later, the court dismissed the review petition filed by the police against the rejection of their application for Gill’s physical remand, declaring it “inadmissible”.

Gill was presented before Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir upon the expiry of his two-day physical remand, while PTI members gathered outside the court and raised slogans in his favour. Before the hearing began, his handcuffs were removed and he was allowed to meet his legal team.

Dr @SHABAZGIL being presented in Court. History will remember the kind of fascism the imported govt is unleashing ! #شہباز_گل_کو_رہا_کرو pic.twitter.com/IXEypDF7rM

— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 12, 2022

Judicial Magistrate Shabbir, after hearing the arguments of the prosecutor and the accused's lawyers, decided to reject the request for further physical remand.

During the hearing, Gill informed the court that the police kept him awake all night and tortured him. “I cannot even think about talking against the forces … I only talked about bureaucracy.”

Read PTI distances itself from Gill's remarks

Advocate General Islamabad Jahangir Jadoon apprised the court that Gill's driver was hiding in Bani Gala and had the phone. He told the court that Gill had the transcript which was read out before the court, not telling who was behind the move. “Gill has to undergo a polygraph test to see if he is telling the truth or lying.”

After reading the transcript of Gill's conversation before the court, the advocate general requested for an extension in the physical remand of the accused.

He apprised the court that an attempt was made to incite mutiny in various ranks within the army, adding that the purpose of the investigation was to gather evidence.

The prosecutor said, “In the remand, we checked whether the transcript was genuine or not.”

He said, “We have to see now who the producer behind the programme is.”

Jadoon said that mobile, laptop should be recovered from the accused.

The prosecutor said that the request was that the accused had a high profile, “we have to conduct a polygraph test so give us four to five days to have it conducted from the Punjab Forensic Lab”. “We have also written to Pemra (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) that the accused may have to be taken to Karachi.”

The prosecutor told the court that the accused was not cooperating in providing the mobile phone.

“We have conducted the forensic of the audio. The voice on TV has been proved to be that of Shahbaz Gill.”

Faisal Chaudhry, the lawyer of Gill, apprised the court that marks of violence were not on the clothes but on his client’s back. The court was informed that Gill started singing the national anthem during investigation.

After consultation with his legal team, Gill, who is in police custody, came to the rostrum twice during the court proceedings. He apprised the court that no other questions were asked of him during the interrogation. “They just ask what did Imran Khan eat? How many meetings did you have with Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (former DG ISI and the incumbent Bahawalpur corps commander)? What statement did Imran Khan ask you to make?”

He said, “I told them that I did not make any such statement.” During the court proceedings, Gill removed his shirt and showed the court torture marks on his back.

“I was tortured. The police did not even conduct a medical [examination] and submitted a fake report in the court.”

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Gill informed the court that he did not give any confession. “The police did not let him sleep all night. They would wake me up again and again. I have medical problems that can be life-threatening if I don't get enough sleep.”

He said, “I am a professor and not a criminal. I am not even allowed to meet my lawyers.” Gill said that on the day he was arrested, there were no mobile signals and he talked on landline.

His lawyer Faisal apprised the court that the purpose of getting the mobile phone was to know the political strategy.

During the proceedings, the courtroom was packed as PTI leaders Ali Nawaz Awan, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Kanwal Shozab and others were present.

Meanwhile, an Islamabad local court accepted the bail application of Saira, the arrested wife of Gill's driver.

Judicial Magistrate Salman Badr heard the bail plea of Saira.

After the arguments of the lawyers were completed during the hearing, the order was given to grant bail to the arrested woman, Saira, against surety of Rs30,000.

On Thursday, the Islamabad police raided the house of Gill's driver Izhar to recover his phone but the he managed to escape.

During the raid, the police arrested the driver's wife and brother and a case was registered against them in the Abpara police station for putting up resistance and interfering in official work.