By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Friday rejected police plea for an extension in physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry and sent him to Adiala jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry was produced in the Islamabad district and sessions court amid tight security after his two-day remand with the police expirred. An Islamabad lower court had, on the night of January 25 granted police two-day physical remand of Fawad, hours after he was arrested from Lahore for “inciting violence against a state institution”.
Fawad Chaudhry threatened ECP officials
The PTI leader was taken into custody in the wee hours of January 25 after an FIR was registered against him at Kohsar police station of Islamabad on the complaint of an official of the Election Commission of Pakistan for “threatening” the electoral body’s members and their families.
The court had, on Wednesday night granted police an initial two-day remand of Fawad, hours after he was arrested.
At the onset of the hearing, the ECP lawyer Saad Hassan, the prosecutor in the case, told the court that the PTI leader’s voice matching had been completed. He requested an extension in remand, saying that Fawad had to be taken to Lahore for a photogrammetric test.
The prosecutor contended before the court that Fawad incited hatred against a constitutional institution. The ECP lawyer argued that an extension to the PTI leader’s remand was imperative to carry out further investigation in the case. He added that the ECP employees were told that they do “the work of a clerk”. “We were threatened that they (PTI supporters) will reach our homes.” At this, Fawad’s counsel Babar Awan accused the ECP of colluding with the government against PTI.
The ECP lawyer responded that Fawad Chaudhry was a senior politician but “no one is above the law”. He told the court that it was mandatory to search the PTI leader’s home. Following the conclusion of the arguments, the judge approved Fawad’s request to have his handcuffs removed.
Ahead of the hearing, heavy contingents of Frontier Corps personnel and Islamabad police were deployed outside the court. Some PTI workers also clashed with policemen.
Later in the day, another Islamabad court fixed the application for Fawad Chaudhry’s bail for tomorrow (Saturday) as it directed to send notices to the concerned.
