Screengrab of Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s appearance at a Rawalpindi Court
A Rawalpindi Court on Thursday rejected a plea of Punjab Police seeking physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, sending the former foreign minister on 14-day judicial remand in cases linked to the May 9 riots.
On Wednesday, Qureshi was re-arrested outside Adiala Jail in connection the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on May 9. He had been set free after the Supreme Court granted him post-arrest bail in the cipher case and authorities withdrew his detention orders under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order.
During today’s proceedings, Qureshi was brought to court in handcuffs. He then took the rostrum and maintained he was arrested illegally. He alleged that police officials had kicked and ridiculed him while taking him into custody, adding he was denied access to a doctor despite multiple requests. “A team came to me saying that they wanted to record a statement on the May 9 violence. These people want to nominate me in cases related to May 9,” he said, reiterating he was in Karachi on May 9 and could not have been involved in the attack on GHQ.
He further alleged he was kept in a cold cell overnight and wasn’t allowed to sleep. “I was tortured mentally and physically,” he claimed.
The prosecutor then sought three-day physical remand of Qureshi, arguing that terrorism cases allowed for remand of up to 90 days. “We found evidence against Qureshi,” he said, referring to reports received from the FIA and PEMRA. He claimed evidence was also collected from social media and presented it in court, maintaining Qureshi’s speech on May 9 was aimed at incitement.
“We are not saying that Qureshi was among those who attacked GHQ … we are saying he made a speech that led to the GHQ attack,” he argued, adding police required remand to probe the impact of Qureshi’s speech and conduct photogrammetric tests.
The PTI leader’s lawyer, however, argued that the entire case rested on a “single tweet” in which he had urged the public to protest with the PTI chairman. He also maintained Qureshi was kept in “unlawful custody” for 24 hours. He said punishments could not be awarded in supplementary cases, adding police had not written Qureshi’s name on the charge sheet.
The court then reserved its verdict, announcing it a short while later by denying the police request for physical remand and sending Qureshi on judicial remand.