Islamabad ATC sends former G-B CM Khalid Khurshid to jail on 14-day judicial remand

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday rejected the police’s request for physical remand of former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Khalid Khurshid and sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

Khurshid, who was arrested by the federal police, was produced before ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain. The police had sought a 30-day physical remand, but the court rejected the request and ordered that he be sent to jail on judicial remand.

A case has been registered against Khurshid at Islamabad’s Aabpara police station in connection with a protest held on Nov 26.

Read: Former G-B CM Khalid Khurshid sentenced to 34 years

In December 2024, an ATC sentenced Khurshid to 34 years in prison on charges of threatening security agencies.

The charges stemmed from an incident on May 26, 2024, during a PTI public gathering, where Khurshid allegedly threatened G-B’s chief secretary, chief election commissioner and security agencies.

Khurshid had served as the chief minister of the region from 2020 until his disqualification in July 2023. His removal from office followed a ruling by the G-B Chief Court, which disqualified him for submitting a fake degree during his nomination process.

The degree, purportedly from the University of London, was later verified as fake by the Higher Education Commission after a formal inquiry.

Khurshid, who joined PTI in 2018, had risen to the position of divisional president of Diamer-Astore. His involvement with PTI has also led to his booking in multiple cases, including charges related to the party’s protests at D-Chowk in Islamabad in October.