Police denied Rashid, nephew's physical remand

ATC sends former minister, nephew to Adiala jail on judicial remand, orders to present them in court on Jan 30

RAWALPINDI:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected on Wednesday the police's request seeking 30-day physical remand of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and his nephew Rashid Shafiq in a case related to May 9 riots.

The former interior minister along with his nephew were produced before the ATC today - a day after they were denied bail in one case related to the May 9, 2023 riots.

Officials of New Town police station accused Rashid of provocative speeches, requesting the ATC judge to grant a 30-day physical remand so sonographic and photographic tests of the AML chief could be conducted.

The court asked the prosecution for the speeches to be played in court. However, the prosecutor informed that the speeches were in a USB that was currently at the police station.

At this, the ATC judge ordered the police to present the USB in court immediately.

Rashid’s lawyer stated that his client had been implicated in the case for  'revenge', adding that the AML chief was not present at the attack site on May 9.

The investigation officer asserted on remanding the former interior minister to the police for 30-days in one go, as the law permitted a remand of the time period. He said that the former PTI ally was to be taken to the Lahore forensic laboratory for a sonographic test.

However, the judge demanded to be satisfied regarding the investigation to be conducted of Rashid. "What investigation have you conducted since the arrest? What questions did you ask? What answers did you get?" the judge asked of the prosecution team, telling them that he will not grant a remand till they have satisfied him on the matter.

"Don't feed me stories. Inform me of the progress," the ATC judge asserted.

Read May 9 riots: ATC extends Rashid’s bail in 10 cases

Later, the court declined the prosecution's request for a physical remand of Rashid and his nephew over failure to recover anything from both the accused.

The court ordered for both the former minister and his nephew to be sent on a judicial remand to Adiala jail, with orders to present them again on January 30.

'Hopeful of winning elections'

Informally addressing the media following the hearing, Rashid said “PTI workers who will not vote for me will be supporting the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)".

He added that, “Despite being in custody for over a month, I did not address any press conference. Will quit politics if anyone proves me wrong on this.”

Rashid demanded reward for the sacrifices and development work he did in his city, and stayed hopeful of winning in the upcoming elections.

AML chief also said that the police had gathered six to seven parts of his different speeches to have him prove guilty, but they were no closer to the truth.

Rashid back in custody

The AML chief was arrested in the GHQ attack case on Tuesday, shortly after he secured bail in 11 other May 9 related cases.

The counsel for the former interior minister adopted the stance that the prosecution had no evidence against his client. “The names of Sheikh Rashid and Rashid Shafiq were included in these cases without any basis."

The May 9 riots refer to attacks on state installations last year, following the arrest of then-PTI chairman Imran Khan in a corruption case. The installations, which were attacked, included the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and corps commander's house in Lahore.

Previously, the cases in which Rashid and his nephew’s interim bails were extended by the ATC include the GHQ attack, the army museum attack, the intelligence agency office attack and the setting of a metro bus station on fire.