A judicial magistrate of Islamabad on Monday granted the police a two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill, rejecting the request of his lawyers for judicial remand in the sedition case. The court also granted Gill permission to meet his family and legal team. Shahbaz Gill was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Malik Amaan by the police amidst foolproof security arrangements. The court was informed that the case file was with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as an identical case was also being heard there. The defence lawyers said the IHC had ordered that Gill should be allowed to meet his legal team. The judge said he would pass an order after viewing the verdict. He observed that it was good that Gill’s health had improved. After a recession in hearing, Gill’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry appeared and said the IHC had reserved its verdict. He claimed that the police were requesting physical remand of his client so that he could be tortured. The judge remarked that he would take a decision after seeing the file. Babar Awan said the high court had not kept any record of the investigation, as only a writ petition was with it. Faisal said Gill had been in police custody since the first day, which, he alleged, tortured him. They had brought everything into the knowledge of high court, he added. Baber Awan said the accused should be allowed to meet his lawyers as he was in the custody of Islamabad Police for the last 13 days. It was not known where Shahbaz Gill was kept, he claimed.
Raid: Meanwhile, the capital police raided and searched an apartment in the Parliament Lodges that was under Shahbaz Gill’s use. The police brought Gill with them, and recovered a pistol, a satellite phone and other devices from the apartment. The PTI leader told the police that the firearm did not belong to him, and insisted that someone had been in the apartment before the raid.
