Pakistan court: No adverse action against PTI leaders in Prophet’s Mosque incident

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) while allowing a petition on a designated holiday, Monday, directed the federal government to refrain from any act of harassment or adverse action against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in the Prophet’s Mosque incident.

The Islamabad high court has been targeted by the PTI for accepting petitions in odd hours or at night, but on Monday (a holiday on account of Eid in Pakistan) it was the PTI itself that requested the court to take up its petition urgently to which the court consented.

Justice Athar Minallah along with the staff reached the court and after hearing the petition filed by the PTI Member of the National Assembly (MNA) and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, ordered Secretary Ministry of Interior and the respondents to make sure that no harassment is caused to the petitioner nor coercive adverse measures are taken against him till the next date fixed, May 9.

In his petition Fawad Chaudhry informed the court through his counsel that cases were registered against the PTI leadership under the country’s blasphemy laws.

These cases were registered after some Pakistanis chanted slogans at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation during their visit to the Prophet’s Mosque last Tuesday

The PTI leader said the incident was a spontaneous reaction and reflected public anger while the government claims it was planned and orchestrated by the PTI leadership.

Fawad said the newly appointed interior minister Rana Sana Ullah in the Shehbaz Sharif-government had been targeting the PTI leadership and also “openly threatened” them with dire consequences.

He said that through “reliable sources”, he had come to know that the incumbent government had decided to teach him and other PTI leaders “a lesson they must not forget”.

Fawad alleged that Rana Sana had ordered the police and the FIA to have him and other PTI leaders nominated/booked in false criminal cases registered in various parts of the country.

The petition noted that one FIR had been registered in Faisalabad while applications had been filed in Burewala and Islamabad.

The petition further noted that when the incident occurred, the PTI was celebrating 27th of Ramadan at an event organised at the house of Chairman Imran Khan which was also shown live across the country.

Government restrained from arresting Shahbaz Gill

In another petition filed the same day, the IHC restrained the authorities from arresting Imran Khan’s close aide Shahbaz Gill upon his return to Pakistan.

The petition stated that Gill had been falsely implicated in several FIRs to “harass, pressurize, blackmail and humiliate”.

The petition also stated that Gill was ready to appear before the court to prove his innocence but was prevented from doing so as the current government was bent upon arresting him at any cost.

Gill’s lawyer Advocate Faisal Chaudhry told the court that his client was in the US when the incident occurred. On Justice Minallah’s question when he would return, Chaudhry replied that the PTI leader had left for the US on April 28 and would return on May 4.

2-day physical remand of Sheikh Rashid Shafiq

The Attock police on Monday obtained two-day physical remand of Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, who was arrested in connection with the case on Sunday.

Police produced the MNA, who is the nephew of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, before a duty magistrate and obtained his physical remand.

An FIR against Shafiq and other PTI leaders was filed at the New Airport Police Station on the complaint of Advocate Qazi Tariq.

Subsequently, the lawmaker was arrested at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) as he arrived from Saudi Arabia on Sunday.