Shahbaz Gill moves IHC for bail in sedition case

ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Shahbaz Gill has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking bail in a sedition case registered against him for attempting to create disharmony within the ranks of the military.

A local court in the federal capital rejected his bail plea earlier this week and observed that despite being a responsible person, Gill made a sensational statement that was enough to disturb the harmony and discipline of the Pakistan Army.

In an eight-page verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal said Gill was a leader of a popular national-level party — PTI — and he had not made the statement in an indoor meeting.

“His statement was sensational, which was sufficient for disturbing harmony and discipline in the most respected institution of Pakistan i.e. the Pakistan Army,” the order stated.

In his bail petition filed today, the PTI leader has made City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza and SHO Police Station Kohsar and others a party, claiming that on August 17 a medical board of the Pakistan Medical Institute of Medical Sciences, in its report, concluded that they found torture marks on his body.

The court has fixed the appeal for a hearing on September 5.

The PTI leader was arrested on August 9 from Banigala Chowk in Islamabad after a case was filed against him for his controversial remarks on a private TV channel.

After arrest, Gill was presented before the court which granted a two-day physical remand. However, the PTI leaders had claimed that he was tortured during police custody but the government has denied it.

In one of the protest rallies held against Gill’s arrest, Imran Khan threatened top police officials and a judge after which a terror case was filed against the PTI chairman.

Gill is currently in jail on judicial remand.