ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), on Thursday, again extended the physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan’s sisters for two days in a terrorism case registered against them following the protest on October 4.
Police produced Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan after the expiry of their previous physical remand before the ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain for extension in their physical remand in a case registered against them at Kohsar police station under terrorism charges.
The court, while announcing its reserved verdict, extended the physical remand of Khan’s sisters for another two days.
At the start of the hearing, the prosecutor, Raja Naveed, requested the court to extend the physical remand of the accused for another 15 days.
Why you need the physical remand of Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, the judge asked. The judge asked what kind of evidence you have collected so far. Naveed told the court that both the sisters had incited workers through a megaphone.
He further said that both the sisters pelted stones at police along with the PTI workers. Aleema Khan has made a video. Physical remand is required to recover the phone through which she made the video, he said.
The prosecutor further said that both Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan in a meeting planned to stage a protest. The co-accused Adnan Khan has made the revelation about Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan, he said, adding that the co-accused told the police that Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan had “provided explosive material”.
He further said that both the accused had prepared anti-state planning and “provided explosives to workers”.
During the hearing, Barrister Salman Safdar told the court that staging peaceful protest is the constitutional right of every citizen.
Both Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan have nothing to do with politics and they were part of the peaceful protest, he said.
He said that Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi is already in jail in a fabricated case and now they have also arrested his sisters.
The custody of the accused is not mandatory for investigation, he said, adding that it has not been stated in the First Information Report who was carrying the megaphone.
The counsel said that police have not arrested Khan’s sisters from the protest site. Police would conduct the investigation on the accused statement or sentences. Where are those sentences that have incited workers, he said.
He said that it is never stated in the FIR that they used a megaphone for addressing workers. Such longer remand was never granted in a case registered under Section 109, he said.
During the hearing, Aleema Khan came to the rostrum and said that they were staging a peaceful protest as per the Constitution. We were standing on the footpath alone at China Chowk, she said, adding that they were asking her one question for the last five days, to open the mobile phone code.
The judge said that give them the phone code and get rid of it.
To this, Aleema Khan said that her phone contained things related to her family. She will not give them a phone code even of court grants her 10 remands, she said.
She further said that only Section 144 can be invoked against us but they also included Section 7ATA in the case registered against them.
Safdar said that there is no justification with prosecution for extension of remand. He requested the court to reject the prosecution’s plea seeking an extension in the physical remand and hear the post-arrest bail of both sisters.
The court, after hearing arguments, reserved its verdict.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024