ISLAMABAD: A local court on Wednesday dismissed a police request to extend former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry’s physical remand for another five days and sent him to jail on 14-day judicial remand in a case regarding financial fraud registered against him.

Police produced Chaudhry before district and sessions judge Yasir Mehmood handcuffed after the expiry of his one-day physical remand.

Chaudhry was shifted from Aapbara police in an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to the court.

Chaudhry’s counsel Qamar Inayat Raja appeared before the court. Chaudhry’s wife Hiba Fawad also attended the proceedings. At the start of the hearing, Chaudhry requested the court to grant him permission for consultation with his legal team.

The court permitted him to consult his legal team. Chaudhry’s counsel told the court that he had made a request during the previous hearing to remove the handcuffs of his client but to no avail. He requested the court again to issue an order to open the handcuffs of his client.

The court ordered the removal of handcuffs from one hand and took a short break. Chaudhry came to the rostrum when the hearing resumed after the break.

Chaudhry said that today, was his third appearance but the complainant had yet to appear before the court.

“Has he been threatened? I had police guards with me when I was the federal minister,” he said, adding that he had no connection with the complainant.

If you want to make a recovery then take Rs5,000 or Rs7,000 from me, he said. The court after hearing arguments reserved its verdict for some time.

Later, while announcing its reserved verdict, the judge said that there seemed no justification for the grant of physical remand and sent Chaudhry to jail.

The court directed the police to present Chaudhry before it on November 22.

“Tell Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif that after 50 years of being in politics, if you want to win the elections in such a way then who will accept you as Prime Minister,” he said while talking to the reporter informally.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023