Court orders probe into PTI leader’s maltreatment allegations

A sessions court on Wednesday disposed of an application filed by Karachi Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Raja Azhar seeking registration of an FIR against police officers over alleged maltreatment of him and other party leaders.

The former MPA had filed the application under the Section 22-A and B of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) naming DSP Chaudhry Suhail Faiz and Sohrab Goth SHO Wazir Ali Samo as proposed accused persons.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the additional sessions judge (Malir) disposed of the application with a direction to the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) East to appoint a police officer to conduct a probe into the allegations of the applicant and record his statement to lodge an FIR as per law, according to PTI advocate Zahoor Mahsud.

Earlier, the applicant stated that on November 8, 2024, he along with fellow party members and supporters had peacefully gathered at a vacant ground opposite Al-Asif Square, Sohrab Goth, preparing for departure to attend the party's rally in Swabi.

Suddenly, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Chaudhry Suhail Faiz and Sohrab Goth SHO Wazir Ali Samo, along with uniformed police personnel and armed plain-clothes men arrived there in police mobiles, he said. He claimed that the proposed accused began verbally abusing, pushing and manhandling him and his companions, treating them like criminals without any provocation or legal justification.

During this unprovoked assault, the applicant said that the uniformed officers along with their armed plain-clothes accomplices physically assaulted him, subjected him to derogatory insults and forcibly detained him along with his companions in police mobiles. They further seized cash amounting to Rs170,000 from him at gunpoint while transporting him to the police station, he added.