Police restrained from action against Rashid

Lawyer says AML chief was tied to chair, subjected to political questioning and torture under custody

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped the police from taking action on the cases filed against Sheikh Rashid in Sindh and Balochistan till February 16.

The court also issued a restraining order on filing more cases across the country on the alleged statement accusing Asif Ali Zardari of plotting Imran Khan's murder and made it subject to a court order.

Notices were also issued to the attorney general, bar councils, and the advocate generals of Sindh and Balochistan.

Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri of the IHC heard the petitions against Rashid’s summons to the police station and registration of cases in other provinces.

Rashid’s lawyer Advocate Sardar Abdul Raziq argued that his client was in police custody, so an FIR was also registered in Karachi.

Rashid was tied to a chair in an unknown place for six hours, he said, adding that during this time, political questions were asked and he was subjected to violence.

Justice Jahangiri asked that if the statement was given in Islamabad's polyclinic hospital, then how was the case registered in Karachi.

“How can there be FIRs in different cities on the same incident?” he wondered.

“Terrorism cases were registered against the information secretary and PTV MD, just think what would have happened if the lady information secretary was arrested and taken away by the police,” he said. “Now the same thing is happening against you. I do not understand where this series will stop.”

The lawyer said that the third case was registered in Murree, on which the court inquired whether arrests have been made in these three cases.

The lawyer said that an arrest has been made in only one case.

Justice Jahangiri remarked that the law says that when an arrest is made in one case, it is also done in the rest.

The court, while stopping the proceedings in the cases registered in Sindh and Balochistan, also issued notices to the plaintiffs in the cases in Kemari and Lasbela.

Later, the hearing was adjourned till February 16.