ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain on Monday remanded Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir and human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari into police custody on a three-day physical remand.
The prosecution had sought a 10-day physical remand of the accused in the case of sedition, threats and incitement.
The cases against him were registered after he delivered a controversial speech at a recent PTM rally in the federal capital.
Subsequently, Islamabad police arrested Imaan and Wazir on Sunday morning and obtained their remand from a local court in Islamabad on the same day.
Earlier today, he was produced in the court of Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain in the federal capital.
‘Imaan went on hunger strike’
On arrival at the Islamabad Judicial Complex, Imaan hugged his mother Shireen Mazari while the minister was brought to the court with his face covered.
“I am on hunger strike,” Imaan told her mother, adding that no one questioned her during the interrogation.
During the hearing, Imaan’s lawyer told the bench that he has been remanded in police custody for a day.
The lawyer said that the police have not recovered anything yet.
He said that the human rights lawyer did not pose any risk of absconding.
“He is here,” said the lawyer. He further said that the police have seized Imaan’s mobile phone and laptop.
The question is why no evidence has been brought against Imaan Mazari yet? Why hasn’t the photography test or voice matching test been conducted yet?
The lawyer said that Imaan Mazari’s speech is on social media, the laptop and mobile are also with the police.
“Two similar cases have been registered against Imaan Mazari. He is accused of benefiting anti-national elements with his speech,” the lawyer said.
What will be gained by keeping Imaan Mazari in custody? It is not necessary for Imaan Mazari to remain in police custody, there are more than 900 named accused with Imaan.
He remarked that they want to declare Imaan Mazari as a terrorist but the police are forgetting that his mother and sisters are also in the house.
Furthermore, Imaan’s legal team sought permission from the ATC to meet their client saying that she had fainted yesterday, and they could not meet her at the police station.
‘nothing wrong’
When the minister took the rostrum, he said: “We want to convey our message to Islamabad. Nothing wrong was said in the rally.”
At one point, the minister, a former member of the National Assembly, addressed the judge as “Mr Speaker”.
At the end of the hearing, he reserved his decision on the prosecution’s request for a 10-day remand and later announced that both Wazir and Imaan would be remanded in police custody for three days.
‘Lives in danger’
Speaking to media representatives after the hearing, Imaan’s mother, former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, said that Imaan fell unconscious when the police put her in a van.
“Despite being unconscious, he was not allowed to see a doctor,” Mazari said.
He added that Imaan refused to eat in protest.
Mazari claimed that the enemy wants something bad to happen to my daughter.
He further said that Imaan is a human rights lawyer and her life is in danger in jail.
Assuring the bench, he said that Imaan would appear and the court should release Imaan, keeping in mind the respect for human rights.
