The police say they need further custody of Gill to secure crucial evidence in a case of incitement to mutiny in the armed forces.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: A Sessions court in Islamabad said Tuesday that it would revisit the matter of Shehbaz Gill’s investigative custody on Wednesday in pursuance to a ruling by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Earlier on Tuesday, the IHC granted a government challenge to a previous ruling by the Sessions Judge to reject as inadmissible a police plea against a Judicial Magistrate’s refusal to grant further investigative custody of Gill, the chief of staff to former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
After hearing the parties’ arguments for and against the case, Acting Chief Justice Amir Farooq of the IHC ruled that the police request was admissible, and ordered the Sessions Judge to revisit it on the day itself.
The Sessions Judge, however, put it off over tomorrow, maintaining the written order form the IHC had arrived too late in the day for the hearing to take place today.
Advocate General Islamabad Jahangir Khan Jadoon represented the government side at the IHC proceedings.
Gill is under arrest over charges of incitement to mutiny in remarks aired by satellite broadcaster ARY News. After two days of investigative custody, the police said last Friday they needed more time to secure evidence from Gill, including access to his laptop and cell phone.
Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir had declined the police request for further custody after Gill claimed he had been tortured in custody.
The police challenged the magistrate’s order in the Sessions court on the same day, but Additional Sessions Judge Adnan Khan upheld the Magistrate’s ruling, ordering Gill to be handed over to judicial custody.
That was how the matter landed in the IHC, where the Acting Chief Justice took it up, issuing notices to both sides to argue their case. He has now ruled that the Sessions Judge should consider the application as admissible and decide on merit.
The court said that the parties should appear before the Sessions Judge and give arguments. The court ordered that the review petition on physical remand be heard in the Sessions Court today.
The hearing, however, was put over tomorrow by the Sessions Judge maintaining the written IHC order had arrived too late in the day for the matter to be taken up today.
Related: Request for further police custody of Gill lands in High Court
The Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had immediately ordered off air the satellite broadcaster that aired Gill’s offending remarks. The Interior Ministry revoked the channel’s security clearance on Friday citing adverse reports from security agencies.
Security clearance is considered mandatory for any broadcaster to continue operating.
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