Islamabad court grants police two-day custody of Shahbaz Gill

PTI leader to be presented before court on August 24

ISLAMABAD:

An Islamabad court granted on Monday police custody of Shahbaz Gill until August 24, after hearing the lawyers’ arguments in a plea against the 48-hour physical remand of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader.

Judicial Magistrate Malik Aman announced the verdict after Acting Chief Justice Amir Farooq heard the petition in which advocate general Islamabad (AGI) raised the issue of Imran Khan's statement and said that the PTI chairman “gave a statement against an additional sessions judge”.

“We are aware,” Justice Farooq said. However, he added that, “We will see to that, [but] that is a separate issue.”

“Whether the case is of [Section] 302 or that of terrorism, the court must ensure the protection of rights,” Justice Farooq remarked as he directed Gill’s lawyer Salman Safdar to present his arguments.

Advocate Safdar said that his client “was subjected to the worst torture in police custody” and told the court that the “signs of physical torture cannot last over five or six days”.

Read Imran moves IHC for pre-arrest bail following terrorism charges

The judge nonetheless asked the advocate to inform the court about “the FIR and the medical report”

Upon this, the report of IG Islamabad regarding the allegations of torture on Shahbaz Gill was submitted while the investigating officer of the case appeared before the court.

“Now his injuries have healed and so videos are being leaked,” the lawyer continued apparently accepting the videos circulating on social media as legitimate.

“We will see to the [matter of] torture and medical report,” Justice Farooq responded, directing the lawyer to restrict himself to his arguments.

Gill’s counsel then brought up the matter of the recovery of his client’s mobile phone that had been “cited as the reason for further remand” but pointed out that it had already been argued that the device was with Gill’s driver.

“The police have acquired the mobile phone” he claimed.

After Gill’s lawyer completed his arguments, special prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi told the court that “the lawyers of the accused cannot be told about the police diaries.”

“The law says that only the court can see the diaries. The reason for not showing them the diaries is that they might destroy the evidence if they find out first,” he explained.

Read more Imran Khan booked under terrorism charges

“90 per cent of the investigation is yet to be conducted,” he argued, claiming that the mobile phone had still not been recovered.

The court inquired why the phone is required, upon which the investigating officer clarified that Gill had revealed during the investigation that “he had read the comments he made during the TV show off of his phone” and that the device was crucial to investigate “who else was involved”.

The special prosecutor also revealed that the accused had said “he needed some time before he could answer” the investigation team's questions but then he was sent to jail and the investigation was therefore incomplete.

The lawyer also informed the court that while an investigation can be carried out while the accused is in jail, recovery is not possible without completing a separate application process.

He also assured the court that rules and regulations were in place to protect the health of an accused should they fall ill during investigation and that if an investigation is not completed within 15 days then further physical remand cannot be granted. Any further investigation would have to take place from within the jail he said.

Also read Marriyum dubs graphic video of Gill shared by PTI leaders as 'fake'

A response was also submitted by the Adiala Jail authorities regarding the delay in the Gill's extradition, which stated that the delay was on account of the medical officer. The jail authorities claimed that the accused had suffered “an asthma attack”.

“Islamabad does not have its own jail,” the authorities explained, “so the accused have to be kept in Adiala jail. If the accused is unwell, they are taken to the nearest hospital."

On this, the judge said that if the accused is from Islamabad, they are kept in Islamabad hospital.

On the completion of the arguments of the parties on the application against Shahbaz Gill's physical remand, lawyer Babar Awan argued that “14 days have been completed since the arrest”. He contended that the custody of the accused begins from the day of the arrest.

The court expressed displeasure as the lawyers continued to speak despite orders to restrain them and reserved its judgment. Gill is now to be presented before the court on August 24.