Torture asserted: Imran Khan’s nephews granted bail

They are charged with obstructing and threatening a government official

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate granted bail to two nephews of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Thursday and ordered their medical examination to determine if they had been subject to torture while in detention for one night.

Azeem and Abdullah’s counsel told the court that the charges against his clients were bailable.  He told the court that he would ensure that they regularly appeared before it. The counsel claimed that Azeem and Abdullah had been tortured by police following their arrest. He asked the court to order a medical examination on this account and initiate action against those responsible of torturing his clients if the report corroborated his claim. The magistrate granted bail to Azeem and Abdullah against Rs50,000 jail bonds each following the conclusion of arguments and adjourned the hearing of the case till July 16.

Azeem and Abdullah were arrested by Racecourse police on Wednesday following an altercation with a traffic warden. Police registered an FIR on the complaint of Warden Shakeel Ahmed. He said he had stopped them for violating traffic rules. Shakeel said they had abused him and hurled threats at him when he stopped them. They have been charged with obstructing and threatening a government official.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2015.