IHC issues notices in Sheikh Rashid arrest contempt case

• IHC heard plea against arrest of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
• The judge said court had only suspended the police summon notice
• Sheikh Rashid’s lawyer argued police should have not registered the FIR

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday served notices in a plea filed by Awami Muslim League (AML) head Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for initiating contempt proceedings over his arrest.

Sheikh Shakir Shafiq, nephew of the AML chief, stated in the petition that despite suspension of police summon notice by the IHC, he was arrested and a first information report (FIR) was registered him.

At the outset of the hearing, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri asked which order of the IHC had been violated. The court had only suspended the summon notice of the police and not stopped the police from registering an FIR.

He asked the petitioner’s lawyer to read out the previous plea and observed that the courts granted bail to an accused in one case and he was arrested by the police in another case.

Sheikh Rashid’s lawyer argued that the police should have not registered the FIR when the high court had suspended the notice. At that time investigation was underway and the FIR was registered on its basis.

The court issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan, Advocate General Islamabad and police and adjourned the case till Monday.

Aabpara Police Islamabad had lodged the FIR against Sheih Rashid for levelling allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari of hatching a conspiracy to murder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

A day earlier, an additional and sessions court in Islamabad granted police two-day physical remand of Sheikh Rashid.

The former interior minister was shifted to the police station soon after Judicial Magistrate Omar Shabbir announced the reserved decision.

Sheikh Rashid was produced in the local court hours after he was arrested by Islamabad police in a late-night raid from his residence in a private housing society in the federal capital.

According to the police, the case application was received on January 30. After receiving the application, a report was filed against Sheikh Rashid and an inquiry was conducted after which an FIR was registered.

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