A district and sessions court of Islamabad on Tuesday rejected Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid’s plea for a post-arrest bail in a case regarding his remarks against PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari.
A day earlier, Islamabad High Court barred police from taking action on Rasheed’s cases in the first information reports (FIRs) lodged against him in Lasbela and Karachi.
IHC’s Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri had issued the orders while hearing a petition filed by the former interior minister against the registration of a case in Sindh.
Monday’s court hearing
During the hearing, Rasheed’s lawyer told the IHC that another first information report (FIR) was registered in Karachi while Sheikh Rasheed was in Islamabad Police’s custody.
“If Poly Clinic [Islamabad] is the place where the statement was given then how was a case registered in Karachi?” asked Justice Jahangiri. The court also wondered how multiple FIRs could be registered in different cities about the same incident.
At this, Rasheed’s lawyer told the court that a third case was registered against his client in Murree.
“Has the arrest been made in all three cases?” asked the judge. The lawyer told the court that the arrest has been made in only one case. On this, Justice Jahangiri remarked that as per law, arrest in one case is considered arrest in all cases.
The court then remarked that during Rasheed’s tenure cases were registered against the secretary information and managing director of the PTV.
“The same is happening with you. Think, if the female secretary information was arrested and taken by Budh Bher police station what would have happened?” asked the IHC judge.
The court then stopped the police from taking action in the Sheikh Rasheed cases registered in Karachi and Lasbela. The case was then adjourned till February 9.
On February 4, 2023, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said that five people— former president Asif Zardari, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister Rana Sanaullah, and caretaker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi — were plotting to murder him.
He also alleged that he had been tortured and blindfolded, and he had been videotaped at least four times. He claimed his life was under threat from the police, and demanded that Pakistan Rangers be deployed to protect him.
Cases against Sheikh Rasheed were then registered in multiple cities.
