ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate handed over custody of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi to police on Saturday on two days’ remand in connection with the May 9 violence.

On June 15, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had warned the capital police of initiating contempt proceedings for their refusal to take custody of Afridi, who is being kept in the death cell of Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail on orders of the district magistrate.

The Industrial Area Police produced Shehryar Afridi before judicial magistrate Naveed Khan on Saturday and sought five days’ physical remand for photogrammetric and voice matching test.

Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, the counsel for the former minister, opposed the request for physical remand, saying that since his footage had been retrieved from social media platforms, there was no need for such a test.

Fawad to be indicted on 24th in case over threats to ECP

He also requested the court to allow Shehryar Afridi to meet his family.

In a brief speech, Mr Afridi said it was his constitutional right to protest and he never violated the law.

Talking to the media, the PTI leader said, “I had no role” in sending Rana Sanaullah, the incumbent interior minister, to jail when the PTI was in power.

“The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), headed by a serving major general, had arrested the PML-N leader on the basis of intelligence reports.”

In reply to a question about those leaders who had left his party after May 9, the ex-minister said: “Only God knows under what circumstances the politicians deserted the party.”

Fawad’s indictment

Additional district and sessions judge Tahir Abbas Sipra also slated June 24 for indictment of former information minister Fawad Chaudhry in a case registered against him for hurling threats at the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The judge directed the prosecution to give a copy of the complaint to Fawad Chaudhry.

The former minister is facing charges of threatening the chief election commissioner, other ECP members and their family. He was arrested in Lahore on May 25, but released following acceptance of his post-arrest bail plea.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2023