ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the police’s request for a five-day physical remand of former PTI federal minister and now a member of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) Fawad Chaudhry, a court in Islamabad on Sunday granted to the police his two-day physical remand instead.
Earlier, Fawad was brought to the court of Duty Magistrate Abbas Shah in an armored vehicle, with his face covered with a piece of cloth. Footage aired on television showed the former minister handcuffed while his face was covered with a piece of cloth.
His both brothers and wife Hibba Chaidhry were also present in the District and Sessions Court at that time.
Fawad, currently a member of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party, was taken to an undisclosed location on Saturday after police raided his residence in Islamabad, the police sources claimed.
The former minister’s family had claimed he was “abducted from his house in Islamabad by officials in plainclothes when he was having breakfast”.
فواد چوہدری کی اہلیہ عدالت کے باہر آبدیدہ ہو گئیں۔۔!! pic.twitter.com/3y7XfEwscE
— Naya Pakistan (@Naya__Pakistan_) November 5, 2023
According to the first information report, Fawad was arrested in connection with a case registered at the Aabpara police station on August 22, 2022, 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 the Pakistan Penal Code.
فواد چوہدری پر کیا بیہودہ مقدمہ بنایا ہے۔ لگتا ہے عقل گھاس کھانے گئی ئے pic.twitter.com/BVXtLddq4M
— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) November 5, 2023
Besides Fawad, 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.
At the outset of the hearing, Fawad requested Duty Magistrate Abbas Shah for permission to meet his lawyer, which was granted.
During the hearing, the police contended that Fawad was arrested in a FIR lodged by a citizen namely Zaheer and read it out loud in the courtroom.
The investigating officer said Fawad, during his tenure as federal minister, had promised Zaheer a job in return for Rs0.5 million but never provided him the job. “When the complainant asked for his money back, Fawad threatened him,” he added.
For his part, Fawad 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.
“The person named Zaheer is so lazy that he could not even come to court,” he added. After hearing the arguments, the court granted police two-day remand of the IPP leader.
