Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry declared the verdict of the court which reads “Muhammad Shahbaz Shabbir Gill is given in the custody of the investigating officer for the purpose of investigation for 48 hours”.
The court also ordered the investigating officer to submit a fresh medical examination report of Shahbaz Gill.
PTI protested the court decision alleging that Gill was tortured during the earlier police custody and handing him over to police again puts him in danger of being tortured again.
Earlier the court had rejected the request of Islamabad police to extend the physical remand for 48 hours taking him into judicial custody, however, this decision was challenged by the authorities as they maintained that physical remand is necessary for the investigation of the case.
Read More: PTI condemns harassment of family of Shahbaz Gill’s assistant
Today the court reserved its verdict after hearing the arguments from both; the prosecution and the defense lawyer. Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi argued that the accused was “repeatedly telling lies” and that a polygraph test had to be conducted. He further said that the mobile phone records of the detainee are also required as they can lead to new evidence. “We are yet to investigate the person who allegedly approved the script of the suspect” the prosecutor said hinting at possible involvement of other people.
Gill’s lawyer Salman Safdar sought copies of the questions asked from the PTI leader during the interrogation. He also criticized the prosecution’s argument that he made the remarks at the behest of someone else. “Some of the things could be wrong but they do not fall under sedition, conspiracy or crime,” Gill’s lawyer argued. He contended that Shahbaz Gill cannot be handed over to police again as he had been sent on judicial remand and could not be sent back on physical remand again.
Reacting to the decision of the session court, PTI Chairman Imran Khan tweeted that he is “very concerned about Shahbaz Gill being sent into police remand again”. Earlier Imran Khan admitted that the controversial remarks made by Shahbaz Gill during the interview on ARY News were wrong saying that “he [Gill] shouldn’t have said it”.
Read More: Imran Khan condemns torture against Shahbaz Gill
Very concerned about Shahbaz Gill being sent into police remand again. He is in a fragile state of mental & physical health because of the torture inflicted on him when he was abducted & taken to undisclosed location & then again at the police station. This is part of conspiracy
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 17, 2022
but also any such extra-Constitutional & extra-legal actions being devised against us.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 17, 2022
Fawad Chaudhry, speaking to media outside the court room demanded a judicial inquiry of alleged torture Gill faced in the police custody. He claimed that the torturous treatment of Gill at the hands of police was part of the “regime change operation against Pakistan”.
Shehbaz Gill served as the chief of staff of Chairman PTI Imran Khan, he was arrested on August 9 at Bani Gala Chowk in Islamabad by Islamabad police. He was charged of sedition and inciting mutiny in the armed forces following his controversial remarks during an interview on ARY News.