ISLAMABAD: On Saturday, a district and session court postponed ruling on appeals filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and the police opposing the decision of the judicial magistrate that sent the former information minister to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Following the police’s petition to the district and sessions court of Islamabad contesting Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja’s decision to deny their request for an extension of the PTI leader’s physical remand, Fawad filed an appeal there hours later.
Fawad was supposed to appear before the court by 12:30 p.m., but the police didn’t show up at that time despite the judge’s order from the district and sessions court.
The cops finally brought the PTI leader before the court after a lengthy wait of more than an hour. Fawad was released from his handcuffs inside the courtroom on the sessions judge’s instructions.
Fawad’s physical remand was extended by the police at the sessions judge’s request in order to “nullify” the judicial magistrate’s ruling and allow for more time for investigation, but the PTI leader filed a motion to have the case dismissed against him.
According to the plea filed on his behalf by Fawad’s attorneys, the PTI leader ought to be released from the case rather than placed on court remand. The prosecutor and the Pakistani Election Commission have received notices from Sessions Judge Tahir Mehmood Khan (ECP).
Fawad was taken into custody from his Lahore home on Wednesday after a case was filed against him at the Kohsar Police Station on the complaint of ECP Secretary Omar Hameed. Fawad is being charged with sedition for allegedly publicly “threaten[ing]” the members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a media interview.
He was brought before the court on Friday after the physical remand period had run out, but Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja denied the prosecution’s request for an extension.
