A court in Islamabad on Saturday rejected police requests for further custody of Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and sent him to jail on judicial remand.
The reserved verdict was read out by Islamabad Judicial Magistrate Umer Shabbir on Saturday afternoon.
In his verdict, he rejected the request of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police, who sought an additional five-days of physical custody of Rasheed to complete their inquiries over inflammatory statements against former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Meanwhile, a request from the Karachi Mochko police seeking transitory remand to take the AML chief to Karachi for a probe in the case registered against him for issuing disparaging remarks against Federal Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was also rejected.
Instead, Sheikh Rasheed was sent to jail on judicial remand.
Meanwhile, the court issued notices to all parties to present their arguments on the bail application.
Earlier on Saturday, Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed was presented before a district court in Islamabad at the Sector F-8 Kutchery.
As he was taken by police, he held up his handcuffed hands.
Rasheed was taken to the court of judicial magistrate Umer Shabbir upon completion of his two-day physical remand in police custody.
Speaking to the media while being whisked towards the court room, he said that he had been kept at an unidentified location where his statement was recorded.
“I was told that (former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman) Imran Khan will be disqualified,” he claimed, adding that he responded by saying he will remain loyal to Imran.
On his physical condition, Rasheed said that he was tied to a chair while his hands and feet were also bound and a blind fold put over his eyes.
“From 3am to 1:15pm, they kept the blindfold on,” he said.
He added that his bonds had cut into his skin and his clothes were soaked in his blood and that he needs to be taken to a hospital to receive treatment for his wounds.
“They told me that while going to Sindh, a religious fanatic may fatally attack me,” he claimed.
Later, inside the court, the Judicial Magistrate Umer Shabbir directed to remove Rasheed’s handcuffs.
During the hearing, Rasheed demanded security from Rangers rather than police for transfer to Karachi.
The investigation officer told the court that in the two days they had custody of the AML chief, they conducted voice matching test.
The officer added that the test’s process is quite long and that they have yet to conduct a photogrammetry test.
He added that they have also sought a transcript of Rasheed’s speech from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
