LAHORE: A district and sessions court in Attock on Monday granted two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MP Sheikh Rashid Shafique to the police in connection with a case involving sloganeering against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation in Medina.
Shafique, nephew of Awami Muslim League (AML) leader Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, was arrested on Sunday after the Faisalabad police registered a case under the blasphemy laws against former prime minister Imran Khan and top leaders of his party, among 150, in the wake of the incident.
The first information report (FIR), lodged after midnight in Medina Town police station in Faisalabad, the home town of Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan, nominated some “100 to 150 people” for purportedly violating the sanctity of Masjid al-Nabawi, hurting the sentiments of Muslims across the globe, insulting Islam and violating its code of conduct at one of its holiest places, and hurling abuses and chanting slogans of thieves and traitors.
Shafique was the first suspect arrested in this case on his arrival from Saudi Arabia on Sunday night. He was accused of leading a delegation of PTI party workers from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia to raise political slogans at the holy mosque.
Strict security arrangements were put in place both inside and outside the court. A heavy contingent of police was deployed to prevent public entry into the court’s premises.
During the proceedings, the police requested the court to remand the suspect to its custody for interrogation.
Giving his nod to the request, Judicial Magistrate Jamal Mehmood granted the police a two-day remand of Shafique and directed the police to present him again on the second day of Eid ul-Fitr.
Meanwhile, the judge adjourned the hearing until May 4.
Meanwhile, PTI supporters gathered at the Kutchery Chowk neighbourhood of the city and protested against Shafique’s arrest. Party’s top city leadership, including Zulfi Bukhari and his cousin Syed Yawer Abbas Bukhari, also participated.
