ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Shahbaz Gill approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday for post-arrest bail till the disposal of the sedition case.
Gill was arrested on August 9 after he made controversial remarks allegedly about the army during a TV bulletin and has been detained since, amid claims of him being subjected to torture and sexual abuse during custody.
Earlier this week, an Islamabad district and sessions court had dismissed the PTI leader’s plea seeking post-arrest bail.
Subsequently, he has filed a similar bail petition with the IHC. The petition has been accepted and will be taken up on Monday (September 5) by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
The petition stated that the case registered against Gill was “politically motivated” with “ulterior motives and malafide intentions”.
“For charges under mutiny and sedition, approval and sanction of the federal government is a pre-requisite,” it argued, claiming that neither was granted in this case.
“Without permission and sanction, the very registration of a first information report, followed by arrest, detention and remand under Section 167 CrPC, is a nullity in the eyes of the law.”
The plea stated that the FIR against Gill had been registered after the passage of one day, which it claimed was used to “cook up a story by manipulating and twisting the words of his statement”.
It further argued that the PTI leader was a senior party member and ever since the incumbent government came to power, it had been trying to lodge a case against him and put him behind bars.
