Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Shahbaz Gill was charged with another crime (disappearing evidence and giving false information), and his driver’s wife and brother-in-law were also arrested on Thursday in a case involving mutiny and sedition.
Officers from the Capital Police Station told that Section 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which says “causing disappearance of evidence of an offense or giving false information to screen offender,” had been added to Mr. Gill’s FIR.
After making some controversial comments about the army on a news channel, Mr. Gill was arrested two days ago on charges of sedition and inciting the public against state institutions. Izhar, Mr. Gill’s driver, and the assistant were with him when he was arrested at Banigala Chowk in Islamabad. He said he was hurt during the incident.
Police officers said that samples of Mr. Gill’s voice and a recording of the show where he was a guest had been sent to the FIA for voice matching.
Officers said that Mr. Gill had his phone with him when he was arrested, but it was missing when investigators went to get it to send it to the FIA for a forensic test and data recovery.
Officers said that instead of a smartphone, he had a “feature phone,” which is a phone with buttons and a small screen that can’t be touched. When asked, Mr. Gill said that he had left his phone at Banigala, but investigators thought he was lying.
They thought that Mr. Gill had either left his phone in his car when he was arrested or thrown it away somewhere else, and now it is found that his driver had the phone.
The investigators also asked where Mr. Gill made an audio call from to appear on the news show, and they asked to see the script from which he was read. But the leader of the PTI did say where he was when he was on the news, and he denied reading from a script. But the investigators insisted that either Mr. Gill was reading from something written or it was a recording.
FIR for driver and others
In the FIR filed against Mr. Izhar and others, police said that Mr. Gill, who has been kept in police custody, told them during questioning that he had given Mr. Izhar his cell phone, which had a lot of information about the case against him when he was arrested.
According to the FIR, he told police that Mr. Izhar still had his phone and was living with his in-laws.
The FIR said that after this was found out, a special raiding team was put together and sent to Mr. Izhar’s house at 1:40 a.m. on Thursday.
It said that Mr. Izhar’s wife, Mehreen, and another suspect, Noman, were taken into custody at the scene, but the rest got away because it was dark. After that, a case was filed at the Aabpara police station against all of the suspects under sections 147, 149, 186, 353, 382, and 506 of the PPC.
Police officers said that Izhar’s brother-in-law was taken to Pims Hospital in Islamabad late at night because his health was getting worse. When he was taken out of the lockups, he passed out outside of them. Shortly after that, he was taken to the hospital, where he got immediate medical care. Later, he woke up again, and his condition was said to be stable.
Mr. Gill was also brought to Pims to be checked out by a doctor. The police said he was in good health and showed no signs of injury. No one from the police was available to talk right away.
Imran Khan Reaction to Izhar’s Home Raid
Imran Khan, the head of the PTI, strongly criticized the raid on Izhar’s home and called the arrest of his wife “fascist illegal abductions.”
“I want to ask our lawyers if there are no longer any basic rights.”
The head of the PTI said that the “imported government of the cabal of crooks,” which was brought in by a foreign-backed regime change, is trying to get people and the media to accept it by spreading fear and terror. This is because they lost the Punjab elections.
“But all they are able to do is make the country even more unstable. Fair and free elections are the only way out.”
