Court rejects Sheikh Rashid’s bail plea

AML chief's lawyer says his client only repeated Imran Khan's statement against Zardari

ISLAMABAD:

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Tuesday rejected Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid's bail application in a case pertaining to his remarks against former president and co-chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari.

Following his arrest by Islamabad police on February 2 for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the PPP leadership, the court had granted police a two-day physical remand of the PTI ally.

Later, an Islamabad court had on February 4 sent Rashid on a 14-day judicial remand in the case filed at the city’s Aabpara Police Station, rejecting the police request for another physical remand.

Rashid had filed a post-arrest bail petition in the court and also approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking directions to authorities to stop filing new cases against him over his political statements.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Sheikh Rashid's lawyer Sardar Abdul Razzaq, the plaintiff's lawyer and the prosecutor appeared in the court of Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir.

The AML chief's lawyer, referring to Rashid's statement, said his client had only repeated the claims made by Imran Khan regarding Zardari.

Further, the lawyer argued that Rashid had expressed his views in an interview conducted on January 29, and within two days, an FIR had been registered against him. "The interview had not yet aired when the case was registered," he said.

The lawyer added that on February 6, the high court summoned the police, but the police had registered a case. "Instead of investigating Zardari, a case has been registered against Sheikh Rashid," he said.

The lawyer added that a plan is being made to kill Imran and meanwhile, a case is being registered for the defamation of Zardari.

"No authorized officer has registered a case. A case was registered against Sheikh Rashid on a private complaint. In the provisions laid down, a case cannot be registered at the request of a private complainant," argued the former interior minister's lawyer.

Further, he noted that Asif Zardari had not made the complaint himself, but it was made by a citizen whom nobody knows.

The lawyer further informed the court that a notice has been given on the application to quash the FIR. "I request that Sheikh Rashid be released on bail. This is a political case," he added.

Later, the plaintiff's lawyer argued that Imran also made the allegation against Zardari and questioned why was he not included in the case.

The court reserved its decision on Rashid's bail application, which Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabir later rejected.

The judicial magistrate while passing the decision remarked that the AML chief can file an application for election nomination forms. However, the court will make a decision after reviewing prison laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2023.