ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill on Friday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking post-arrest bail in a sedition case registered against him.
A single bench of Chief Justice Athar Minallah will take up Gill’s bail on September 5.
In the petition, the PTI leader stated that evidence of torture was found on him and thus, the court may grant him post-arrest bail in this matter.
A local court in Islamabad had turned down Gill’s bail plea this week and observed that despite being a responsible person, Gill made a sensational statement that was enough to disturb the harmony and discipline of the Pakistan Army.
The PTI leader requested the court that the bail may be granted to him till the final decision of the case.
Gill maintained that the case registered against him was politically motivated with ulterior motives and malafide intentions. Gill argued that for charges under mutiny and sedition, approval and sanction of the federal government is a pre-requisite and claimed that neither the same was granted in this case.
He contended that without permission and sanction, the very registration of a first information report, followed by arrest, detention and remand under Section 167 CrPC, is a nullity in the eyes of the law.
The petitioner also argued that the FIR against Gill was registered after the passage of one day, which it claimed was used to cook up a story by manipulating and twisting the words of his statement. He further said that the PTI leader was a senior party member and ever since the incumbent government came to power, it had been trying to lodge a case against him and put him behind bars.
Gill continued that these repeated attempts made to incarcerate him clearly and obviously point towards political victimisation of the petitioner. He added that it is, therefore, a politically motivated case in which offences have recklessly been applied.
He maintained that the allegations against him were vague, misconstrued, and based on incorrect facts and prayed before the court that his speech on ARY News had to be seen in totality to get the real meaning and context intended to be conveyed.
He also mentioned the alleged torture against him and contended that the PTI leader was subjected to physical abuse, torture and violence during the custody. The PTI leader further said that he was suffering from genuine and serious medical complications and required sophisticated treatment and medical care which, unfortunately, is not available in prison.
He mentioned that moreover, the jail authorities observed bruises and marks of violence on different parts of his body.
He added that the PTI leader hailed from a noble family and was also a respectable citizen but he was incarcerated despite the completion of the probe.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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