ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have asked the high command to issue a search warrant for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s Banigala residence in connection with the case against Dr Shahbaz Gill, while a satellite phone and a weapon recovered from the ap­­artment allotted to Mr Gill at Par­l­iament Lodges have been sent for forensic examination, Dawn has learnt.

Also, the police have made a list of PTI leaders who were at the house on Aug 8 and the media persons who had contacted the leaders.

The police claimed that Mr Gill appeared on the 4pm news bulletin of ARYNews through a landline at the former prime minister’s residence.

Satellite phone recovered from Gill’s lodge sent for forensic test

The list was prepared through geofencing and call data records of the people present there, senior police officers told Dawn, adding that the purpose was to ‘nominate them in the case as conspirators’.

Mr Khan’s house and a landline installed there were also used in the crime and legal proceedings were being initiated over it, they added.

“A report on the new developments in the case has been sent to senior officers concerned for the nod to initiate further legal proceedings.”

After the approval, search warrants will be issued for the residence and the arrest of alleged conspirators, they added.

In a separate development, a satellite phone and a weapon recovered from the apartment allotted to Mr Gill at Parliament Lodges have been sent for forensic examination, Dawn has learnt.

The police claimed to have recovered a 9mm pistol and a satellite phone during a raid at Mr Gill’s apartment on Aug 22.

When contacted, senior police officers told Dawn that call logs, text messages and other data available on the satellite phone will be retrieved. The pistol was sent for the examination for ballistic matching of bullets to verify if the weapon was used in any crime or not, the officers said.

Separately, Islamabad additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) on Friday adjourned the hearing on post-arrest bail petition of Mr Gill due to the unavailability of the investigating officer.

The IO was summoned on Thursday to appear in the court with the case record. However, when ADSJ Tahir Abbas Sipra resumed the hearing on Friday, the judge was told that the IO had already left for Karachi to arrest an accused before the notice was delivered.

The judge then directed the police to produce the relevant record within two hours. However, the police expressed their inability to present the record at such short notice.

Subsequently, the matter was adjourned till Saturday (today).

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022