ISLAMABAD: A day after his arrest, former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry was sent on a two-day physical remand on Sunday.

Mr Chaudhry, who was a frontline PTI leader, was produced before a duty magistrate who granted the police his two-day physical remand. It is still unclear if he has joined the Jahangir Khan Tarin-led Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party.

Mr Chaudhry was brought to an Islamabad district and sessions court in an armoured vehicle amid tight security. Footage aired on television showed him handcuffed and face covered by a piece of cloth.

The IPP leader’s brother and his wife, Hiba Chaudhry, were also present in the court. At the outset of the hearing, Mr Chaudhry requested the magistrate to meet his lawyer, which was granted.

Arrest linked to allegation of job promise and threats, police say

During the hearing, the police contended that Mr Chaudhry was arrested based on an FIR lodged by a citizen named Zaheer. The investigating officer said Mr Chaudhry, during his tenure as a federal minister, had promised Mr Zaheer a job in exchange for Rs500,000 but never hired him.

“When the complainant asked for his money back, he threatened him.”

Mr Chaudhry told the judge that he was a former federal minister and a serving Supreme Court lawyer. He also requested access to a doctor, citing health issues.

Media reports said Mr Chaudhry was taken to an undisclosed location on Saturday after the police raided his residence in the federal capital.

The reports quoting the FIR, said Mr Chaudhry was arrested in connection with a case registered at the Aabpara police station on August 22, last year under sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341 (pun­i­shment for wrongful restraint), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimida­tion) of PPC.

Besides Mr Chaudhry, AML chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, PTI leaders Murad Saeed, Faisal Javaid Khan, Asad Umer, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Ali Nawaz Khan, Faisal Vaw­da, Shahzad Wasim, Sada­qat Ali Abb­asi, Shibli Faraz, Saifullah Khan Ni­a­zi, Shehryar Afridi, Fiazul Hassan Cho­han, Firdous Shamim Naq­vi, Asad Qaiser, Zahir Abb­as Khokhar, Ghulam Sar­war Khan and over 1,000 unidentified people were also booked in the FIR.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023