District & sessions court accepts police plea for extension in Fawad Chaudhry’s remand

ISLAMABAD, Jan 28 (SABAH): A district and sessions court on Saturday approved a petition filed by the capital police for extension in physical remand of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in a case registered for threatening members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and their families.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Tahir Mahmood has ordered police to produce Chaudhry before the judicial magistrate who would take a decision on his physical remand. The judge has also rejected a petition filed by the PTI bigwig against the magistrate for not discharging the case against him.

Islamabad Police challenged the verdict of a judicial magistrate to reject a plea for extension in physical remand of the former information minister. Police had pleaded the court to declare Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja’s ruling null and void as they needed more time to complete interrogation in the case.

During the hearing, police told court they needed to take Chaudhry to Lahore for photogrammetric test. However, Babar Awan requested the court discharge the case against his clince as it is “politically motivated”.

The capital police moved court after Fawad filed a bail plea in court of Additional Sessions Judge Faizan Gillani.

A day earlier, the judicial magistrate sent the former information minister to the Adiala Jail on 14-day judicial remand after turning down a police plea for extension in the physical remand. The PTI bigwig was produced before the magistrate in handcuffs after his two-day remand ended on Friday in the case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary.

During the hearing, the prosecutor pleaded the court to extend physical remand of the PTI leader as the investigation team needed more time to complete the probe. Reading out the content of the FIR, he said the former minister attempted to incite violence against ECP officials and their families. He said voice-matching test of the suspect had been completed while there was a need to take him to Lahore for photogrammetric test.

He also sought permission to search the house of Imran Khan’s aide to recover laptop and mobile phone. He said the role of the electoral body was crucial in the coming months due to elections but Chaudhry was trying to put pressure on the ECP.

However, Fawad Chaudhry’s lawyer Babar Awan expressed reservations over treatment meted out to his client, stating that the PTI leader was treated as a terrorist. He said the statement of Mr Chaudhry was reflection of public opinion against the ECP. He also requested the court to discharge his client’s name from the case.

On Wednesday, Duty Magistrate Naveed Khan handed over the PTI stalwart in the custody of the Islamabad police on a two-day physical remand after he was arrested from his residence in Lahore in a case filed over hurling threats at officials of the ECP and their families. The investigating officer had sought eight-day physical remand of the former minister but the request was rejected.