ISLAMABAD: Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff to former prime minister Imran Khan, was granted bail on Thursday after months of detention while facing a trial over remarks critical of the military.
“Allah is sufficient for us and the best of those on whom to depend,” he said in an Arabic-language tweet issued immediately after his release.
“حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيْلُ”
— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) September 15, 2022
Gill was arrested on August 9 on charges of sedition after he allegedly attempted to incite soldiers to revolt against the top military leadership in remarks he gave to ARY News, a popular cable television station.
During the programme in question, Gill spoke at length about the current political situation, and urged troops up to the brigadier level not to accept any illegal order from the top military brass.
Subsequently, on September 2, after being denied bail multiple times by a district and sessions court, Gill approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for relief.
During the proceedings on Thursday, Athar Minallah, chief justice at the high court, who took up the petition, asserted no one could be deprived of the right to bail unless there was solid evidence against them.
“There wouldn’t be any remedy if the same person turns out to be innocent later,” he said, directing police to continue their probe but not seek further detention for Gill without the necessary evidence.
According to the first information report (FIR) registered against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, he is being probed under Sections 34 (common intention), 109 (abetment), 120 (concealing design to commit an offense punishable with imprisonment), 121 (waging war against the state), 124-A (sedition), 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempt to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty), 153 (provoking to cause riot), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The charges against Gill carry up to a death sentence if he is found guilty.
Citing the provisions of the law applied against the former minister, his lawyer Salman Safdar reiterated the case against Gill was based on ill intentions and political victimisation.
He claimed that Gill’s remarks weren’t directed towards the army but instead targeted the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Justice Minallah observed the armed forces of Pakistan were not so “weak that they would get affected” by supposedly “irresponsible” remarks made by any individual. However, he stressed, “Gill’s irresponsible, inappropriate and derogatory remarks cannot be justified in any case.”
The judge subsequently granted bail to Gill subject to surety bonds to the tune of Rs500,000.
It merits a mention here the former prime minister has accused the Islamabad police of subjecting Gill to “torture and [sexual] abuse” but they deny mistreating the politician, insisting that the latter was unwell because he suffers from chronic asthma.
The police later released a statement on Gill’s medical condition, saying he is medically fit to be questioned.
