RAWALPINDI: A Rawalpindi court today (Thursday) sent PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on a 14-day judicial remand in a case pertaining to the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on May 9.
The PTI leader was presented in the court of Duty Magistrate Syed Jahangir Ali. A day earlier, he was manhandled and re-arrested from outside the Adiala Jail in a May 9 case. The Supreme Court had approved his bail in the cipher case on Friday. It was later found out that the PTI stalwart was re-arrested in the case pertaining to the attack on the GHQ on May 9.
The prosecution had sought 30-day physical remand but the court dismissed it. The police formally arrested Qureshi in 12 cases registered in Rawalpindi in connection with the May 9 incidents before coming to the court.
Earlier, Punjab police brought Qureshi to the Rawalpindi Judicial Complex amid tight security. A video shared by the PTI on its social media account showed the former foreign minister being brought to the court in an armoured vehicle. In the video, policemen could be seen dragging a hand-cuffed Qureshi. He was initially moved to the Cantt police station by the police.
Speaking to media persons ahead of the hearing, Meher Bano Qureshi, daughter of the PTI leader, expressed displeasure at the security arrangements made outside the court. “It seems as if they [police] are presenting a terrorist,” she said.
In a two-page letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday, Meher Bano asked the chief election commissioner to ensure level playing field for her father and prevent his political victimisation at the hands of the police.
