ISLAMABAD: A local court, on Tuesday, extended the physical remand of former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry for one day in a case regarding financial fraud registered against him.

Police produced Chaudhry before district and sessions judge Yasir Mehmood handcuffed and with face covered after the expiry of his two-day physical remand. The court extended Chaudhry’s physical remand for one day.

Chaudhry’s lawyer and brother Faisal Chaudhry, lawyer Qamar Inayat and Ali Bukhari, and prosecutor Adnan Ali, Chaudhry’s wife Hiba Fawad, brother Faraz, and some family members also attended the hearing.

During the hearing, Chaudhry told his brother Faisal Chaudhry that file a contempt of court petition as he was again produced before the court with a covered face.

Faisal urged the court to start contempt proceedings against the police for covering his client’s face despite orders issued at the previous hearing.

My client is a former minister and a Supreme Court lawyer, he said.

He requested the court to grant Fawad permission to meet his wife and other family members.

Chaudhry’s counsel Ali Bukhari, while arguing before the court, said that a blind case had been made against his client.

Has the complainant made any agreement with his client? He is a member of the bar his brother and wife are also bar members. What investigation has been done by police during the previous remand?

Prosecutor Adnan Ali requested the court to extend the physical remand of the accused for another five days as Chaudhry is not cooperating in the investigation.

We have to recover Rs5 million from him, we also need to recover gun from him, and also need to do his identity parade. The complainant gave Fawad Chaudhary Rs5 million for safekeeping and when he asked him to return, he told him that he had given his family jobs and eventually, threatened him as a federal minister through his gunmen, he said.

Bukhari objected to the police request.

He read out loud the FIR lodged against Chaudhry in court and highlighted that it did not mention anything connected to taking money.

There is no witness in this case, he said.

The court after hearing arguments reserved its judgment for some time and later while announcing its verdict approved a one-day remand of the accused.

The court also wrote in order that no further physical remand will be granted after tomorrow.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023