KARACHI: The Islamabad District and Sessions Court on Wednesday granted police 48 hours to interrogate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill to complete their investigation.
District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry heard the case.
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During the hearing, Gill’s counsel Salman Safdar and Special Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi presented their arguments on the government’s review appeal to obtain the physical remand of Imran Khan’s chief of staff.
The special prosecutor said the police were initially granted two-day physical remand. On the expiry of remand, the police had requested for an extension in remand.
Abbasi told the court that the investigators want to conduct Gill’s polygraph test as he keeps lying.
He added that Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir had rejected the police’s request for the extension of his physical remand. The prosecutor maintained that the police are yet to recover Gill’s mobile phone, which has all the material relevant to the case.
The investigation officer contended before the court that besides making the recovery, the police also want to investigate the matter from different angles. It is yet to determine who approved the script that Gill read from, he added.
Gill’s counsel Salman Safdar said they were not provided with the copies of statements recorded during the remand.
A case was registered based on the part of his speech, he said.
A sedition case can not be registered without the approval of the federal government, Safdar said. The court should ask the prosecutor to tell if the permission was taken from the government, he added.
After hearing the arguments, the court awarded the police Gill’s two-day physical remand.
Earlier on August 16, the IHC had ordered the lower court judge to hear the government’s appeal again in a case pertaining to granting Gill’s physical remand.
The court had also directed that the lower court announce the decision on the same day, but to no avail.
On August 15, the IHC had asked Gill to submit a response, to the government’s plea to award his custody to the police.
He was arrested by the police on charges of inciting rebellion in the military on August 9 and is currently in jail on judicial remand.
During the hearing, Islamabad Attorney General Jahangir Khan Jadoon requested the high court to suspend the sessions court order disallowing extension in Gill’s physical remand.
