The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday stopped [the police] from taking action against former minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad in the cases registered in Karachi and Hub.
Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri heard AML chief Sheikh Rashid’s petitions in the IHC.
At the outset, Sheikh Rashid’s lawyer said the court had already stayed further action on the summons of the Aabpara police station, but the police registered a case in the same plea and made an arrest. Another FIR was registered in Karachi when Sheikh Rashid was in the police custody, he added.
Justice Jahangiri opined if the place of statement was Poly Clinic Hospital, how was a case registered in Karachi? The court also issued notices to the bar councils, the Attorney General and the Advocate General, restraining them from proceeding in the cases registered against Mr Ahmad in Mochko area of Karachi and Hub area of Balochistan. The judge questioned as to how could there be FIRs in different cities on the same incident?
The counsel said the third case was registered in Murree, upon which the court inquired whether the arrests had been made in these three cases. Sheikh Rashid’s lawyer said there had been an arrest in only one case.
The judge said “the law says that when an arrest is made in one case, it is also done in the rest”.
The counsel said Sheikh Rashid was tied with a chair at an unknown place for about six hours for political questioning. He was also subjected to torture.
The judge said, “I don’t understand where this series will stop, you had filed cases of terrorism against the Secretary Information and the Pakistan Television Corporation’s managing director and now the same thing is happening against you. Just imagine what would happen had the police arrested the woman secretary Information”?
The IHC adjourned the hearing till Feb 9.
