Court seeks details of cases against Rashid across Punjab

Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the petition of the former federal interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, seeking details of criminal cases filed against him across the province.

During the hearing of the petition, the court of Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz adjourned the hearing for a week, directing the Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the government to submit the details of all the cases in the court.

At the onset of the hearing, the court was told that only the details of the cases registered in the Rawalpindi district have been submitted according to which a total of eight cases pertaining to the May 9 riots are registered against the former interior minister in the entire district.

The court allowed time to submit the details of cases registered against Rashid in the entire province on the next hearing of the case.

Talking to the media after the court appearance, the former interior minister said: “So many cases have been registered [against me] that now I don’t even have a guarantor for surety bonds.”

The AML chief said he was not even present in Rawalpindi from May 5 to 20. “I am not involved in any case. These people wanted to take me out of Lal Haveli and throw me into the drain, but they failed,” he said.

Responding to a question regarding the upcoming general elections, Rashid said he would contest polls from both NA-55 and NA-56 constituencies of the garrison city on the symbol of pen and inkpot. The AML chief said he would start the election campaign on December 10. “Those who witnessed the 16-month destruction of Shehbaz Sharif’s rule do not need an election campaign,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2023.