ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court on Wednesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) eight-day physical remand of Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former prime minister Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The PTI chief who was arrested by Rangers from Islamabad High Court (IHC) was presented before Accountability Court judge Muhammad Bashir at Islamabad Police Lines Headquarters, which has been declared a sub-jail by the district administration on Tuesday night.
Moreover, Al-Qadir trust case and Toshakhana cases against the PTI chief were heard at the Police Lines Headquarters H-11/1 instead of F-8 district courts and Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) G-11/4 Islamabadat the request of the NAB.
IHC terms PTI chief Imran Khan’s arrest legal
Khan after his arrest was shifted to NAB Rawalpindi and later in the night, he was shifted to a guest house at Police Line Headquarters. Heavy contingent of law enforcement agencies including personnel of Islamabad police and Frontier Constabulary were deployed in and outside of Police Line headquarters as well as all roads leading to it.
The Accountability Court Judge, Muhammad Bashir, while announcing its reserved judgment and handed over Khan on eight-day physical remand to NAB. The court earlier reserved its judgment after hearing arguments. Khawaja Haris, counsel for Khan and NAB deputy prosecutor general Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi concluded their arguments.
At the outset of the hearing, the NAB prosecutor requested the court to grant 14-day physical remand to conduct further investigation of him. He told the court that the NAB team had shown a warrant of arrest to Khan at the arrest. However, Imran Khan denied the claim and told the court he was shown an arrest warrant after he was shifted to the NAB Rawalpindi office.
Abbasi told the court that all necessary documents will be provided to the PTI chief’s lawyers. About the case, the prosecutor said that the money was seized by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and sent it back to the government of Pakistan.
Khan’s lawyer Haris argued about the legality of Khan’s arrest. He opposed the NAB’s request to grant 14-day physical remand.
The judge took a short break and directed Khan’s legal team to hold discussions with Khan as earlier authorities did not allow them to meet their client before the hearing.
Khan told the court that all transactions were made after the approval of the cabinet.The court after hearing arguments reserved its judgment.
Sher Afzal Marwat, a lawyer for Khan while talking to the media said that Khan told his legal team that he is suffering from pain in his chest near his heart since morning. Khan, while referring to an advice once given by his personal physician Dr Faisal, said: “The insulin which is given through food causes “seducing” heart attack is a way of eliminating a person. This is what Dr Faisal had once told me.“He further said that Dr Faisal told him that insulin in food causes heart attacks which is a method of killing someone.
The lawyer further that the PTI chief was kept in a dirty room at the Islamabad Police Lines, where he was shifted at 3 amlast night, and was not given food or a bed to sleep in.He added that Khan was in “good spirits,” but complained he had been hit on the back of the head and leg by the paramilitary forces at the time of his arrest.
He said that the PTI chairman has sent out a message through him after he was informed about the massive protest after his arrest he plainly stated to convey his message verbatim and said, “The people must continue their protest for the rule of law even if martial lawor “Asim law”is imposed”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.