Spokesman Exclusive By Amjad Mehmood
ISLAMABAD—Muhammad Shahbaz Shabbir Gill publicly known as Shahbaz Gill is currently under the custody of the Islamabad Police. A treason case was registered against him at Kohsar Police Station in Islamabad under several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including 124-A (sedition), 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot if rioting be committed; if not committed), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), among others.He was arrested by the Islamabad police on August 9, soon after he made controversial remarks on ARY News Channel during a show which were later categorized ‘highly hateful and seditious’ by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
Chairman of PTI, Imran Khan’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Gill is known for his furious remarks against political opponents, media personalities, and Govt officials. Previously on several occasions, he utterly failed in selection of decent words for criticism, however; due to unconditional support from the party chief and applause from followers, he continued behaving harshly by crossing all ethical limits.
On August 9, he was arrested from Banigala Chowk and subsequently booked on charges of sedition and inciting the junior rank members of the state institutions against their leadership. Initially, the court granted a two-day physical remand and directed the police to present him on August 12 before the court. The police sought an extension in Gill’s remand for another 12 days on August 12 but the court dismissed the plea and sent the accused to judicial custody at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
PTI leadership blamed the Islamabad police for torturing Shahbaz Gill while arresting him at BanigalaChowk, however, the police released CCTV footage to deny the charges leveled against them by PTI on social media platforms.
PTI leadership including Imran Khan have distanced themselves from the Shahbaz Gill statement during media talk and termed it an ‘irresponsible’ statement. At the same time, they demanded that similar statements were passed by many leaders of opposition parties in the past therefore, Mr. Gill should be freed from sedition charges and be given a fair opportunity to defend his position.
The PTI has alleged that Gill was tortured inhumanly during police custody and his life is in serious danger. Chairman PTI, Imran Khan through his tweets said, Shahbaz Gill is not only tortured physically and mentally but he has also been sexually abused. PTI leader,FawadCh demanded an independent probe into the custodial torture of Shahbaz Gill.
Earlier, Islamabad Advocate General Jahangir Khan Jadoon in the Islamabad High Court on Saturday, August 13 pleaded to challenge the denial of Gill’s further remand from the lower court. The authorities had maintained in the plea that the physical remand of Gill is important for the recovery of his cell phone, and laptop to complete the case’s investigation. The IHC on Tuesday, August 16, referred the plea seeking Gill’s physical remand to the sessions court for further hearing. Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry on Wednesday, August 17 approved a two-day physical remand of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill at the request of the capital police. The judge also directed the Investigation Officer (IO) to get Mr. Gill medically examined and submit a report to the court.
The situation turned more intense when Jail authorities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad police were in a standoff position on handing over Mr. Gill on court’s order for 2 days’ physical remand. Later, Mr. Gill was shifted to PIMS Hospital in Islamabad for medical examination on his complaint of deteriorating health. The police claimed that the medical board declared Shahbaz Gill fit and noticed no marks of torture on him. They just recommended a few more tests for advanced examination.
The Islamabad Police shifted Mr. Gill to court in an ambulance from PIMS, where he was shifted due to his complaint of breathing problems and amid the reports of torturing him during police custody. He appeared in court Friday, August 9, on a wheelchair in mourning situation for a mask. The Islamabad district and sessions court directed the Islamabad police to shift Mr. Gill to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences for another medical examination.
The Islamabad-based Journalist, Hamid Mir on several talk shows claimed that he has proof of torture on Shahbaz Gill which are not portray able on TV screens. There were also rumors in town that Mr. Shahbaz Gill is being investigated by some other agencies as well and during the investigation due to his non-cooperative behavior he was tortured. Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah denied all allegations of PTI leadership for torturing and sexually abusing Shahbaz Gill in Islamabad Police custody. He said Mr. Gill is staging a drama of bad health and if ‘Khan thinks that someone has committed any abuse, he should file an application against him.’
Amnesty International South Asia also shared concerns through its official Twitter account by stating “Amnesty International is concerned about the allegations of torture being made by the lawyers of @SHABAZGIL, and calls for an immediate, effective, and impartial inquiry investigating these claims.”
Pakistan has a written constitution where law process and procedures are very well defined and if someone has committed a crime and is subjected to trial for any charge under the relevant rules then the accused must be given a fair trial without compromising the supremacy of law. The courts should decide the fate of the case presented before them for the sake of justice. This is the only process to save the future of the nation and democracy in Pakistan. The opposition parties should also support the due law process in Mr. Gill’s case rather than advocating any illegal action of torturing to accused as alleged by PTI. The political parties and leaders should support the constitution of Pakistan and supremacy of law as if they supported any illegal path to establishing sedition cases and undermining opponents, this will open a gateway to treat the opposition in a similar fashion.
The police, law enforcement agencies, and courts should follow the due law process so no one has reasons to question their role and transparency of affairs.