Ex-information minister Fawad Chaudhry handed over to police on two-day physical remand

ISLAMABAD, Nov 05 (SABAH): Former federal minister for information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry was handed over to the police after a court in the federal capital approved a two-day physical remand of the politician, a day after he was arrested from his residence in Islamabad.

The court at the District Judicial Complex mandated a medical examination for the politician, directing the police to facilitate his meeting with family members.

The orders came following Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest on Saturday, which his wife Hiba Fawad claimed was done without any reason. However, it was later revealed that the politician was taken into custody after a complaint was filed against him by Muhammad Zaheer, resident of Golra Sharif of Islamabad at Aabpara Police Station for soliciting a Rs5 million bribe in exchange for a job.

In the wake of Fawad’s arrest, his brother and lawyer, Faisal Fareed Chaudhry, filed a petition to the magistrate, seeking his recovery and release.

The court then conducted a hearing on the plea during which the Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shahzad Gondal sought a report from the Islamabad police on the politician’s arrest.

His wife, Hiba Fawad Chaudhry, earlier claimed that her husband was apprehended and taken to an unidentified place with no reasons provided for his arrest.

Earlier on Sunday during the hearing, Fawad Chaudhry was brought to the District Judicial Complex under police security with his face covered with a cloth and hands tied using handcuffs.

The politico’s wife and lawyers, Faisal and Faraz Chaudhry as well as Advocate Qamar Inayat Raja, were also present inside the courtroom, where he met them after seeking permission from duty judge Abbas Shah.

The politician’s brother and lawyer questioned why Fawad’s face was covered with a cloth.

The police, on the other hand, sought a five-day remand of the ex-minister, after a case against him was registered for taking a Rs5 million bribe in exchange for employment.

“Fawad Chaudhary was bitter over the demand for money, on which he threatened to kill me,” the plaintiff said in the first information report (FIR) against the politician, claiming that he gave Rs5 million to the former minister.

Meanwhile, Fawad asked the court to either grant him judicial remand or provide him access to a doctor. He also denied having known the plaintiff.

“I am a former federal minister and a Supreme Court lawyer. [I] shouldn’t be insulted. There is no bathroom where the remand is being sought,” he said, pleading to the court.

The former minister requested the court to ensure a bathroom facility for him and sought permission to meet his children.

Meanwhile, the investigation officer stated that Fawad Chaudhry never hired Zaheer as promised and threatened the complainant when he asked for his money.

After hearing arguments, the magistrate granted the police two-day physical remand besides directing a medical examination of Chaudhry before and after the remand.

The police was directed to produce Chaudhry before the court on November 7 at 11:00 AM.

The FIR against Fawad Chaudhry was registered on the complaint of a man named Muhammad Zaheer on 4^th November under Sections 109 (Punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341(Punishment for wrongful restraint), and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.