Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shahbaz Gill was arrested a day after his controversial statement on ARY channel. He was charged with sedition and incitement against the state institutions. The PTI leadership called the arrest a conspiracy to create a confrontation between the Army and the country’s largest political party. Initially Imran Khan condemned the government for kidnapping his chief of staff. But when it transpired that a sedition case had already been registered and the ARY network banned, the party found itself in hot water.
The PTI leadership finally decided to throw Dr Gill under the bus. But this was not easy. Dr Gill was a popular figure among the PTI youth for his aggressive defense of party policies and his vicious attacks on opposition leaders and media persons who dared to cross Mr Khan. He cared for no cultural, moral or legal redline when on the offensive. Within no time Dr Gill had earned the confidence of the party chief who selected him as his new chief of staff. Dr Gill was accused of inciting sedition in the Army and it was being suggested that the plan had the support of some of the PTI leaders including Mr Khan. He therefore distanced himself from Dr Gill’s controversial remarks aired on ARY News, admitting that they were “wrong” and should not have been uttered. However, fearing that if abandoned Dr Gill might decide to involve PTI leadership in the affair, it was decided to provide him legal assistance to assure him that the party had not abandoned him and to ensure that the police did not get a confessional statement from Gill involving the party leadership in some sort of plot.
Dr Gill has been accused of committing a serious crime. However he has the right to defend himself in a fair trial. The accusations of torture leveled by his counsel need to be thoroughly probed as torture by police is by no means uncommon in this country. The parties constituting the ruling alliance maintain that they are committed s to democracy and rule of law. Any act of torture by police or agencies in this case would constitute a blot on their name.
