WEB DESK
The Islamabad High Court granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader Shahbaz Gill in the sedition case.
Gill, who is the chief of staff of Imran Khan, was arrested on August 9 under sedition charges after he urged personnel of the armed forces to mutiny against their commanders.
On Thursday, Chief Justice IHC Athar Minallah heard Gill’s petition for bail in the sedition case and ordered his release against surety bonds of Rs500,000.
During the hearing, Justice Minallah asked the special prosecutor, Rizwan Abbasi, whether the interrogators have found anything against Gill.
He raised the questions when the special prosecutor told the court that the case against Gill was registered under Section 131. The court said that Section 131 was about inciting an officer to rebel.
The special prosecutor told the court that no contact between Gill and any personnel of the armed forces had been found, but the accused never denied that ‘these were not his words’.
The prosecutor also said that several sensitive items were found on Gill’s satellite phone.
Justice Minallah asked if there was any forensic report on the contents of the phone. To which the prosecutor said that no report has been received so far and that Gill did not cooperate in the investigation.
How come he did not cooperate when he was under arrest and in jail, the justice said.
The Islamabad High Court chief justice also said that the trial court had quashed all other sections in the FIR against Gill and that the prosecution never challenged that decision.
Earlier, Gill’s counsel Salman Safdar claimed that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had also said that illegal orders from officers should not be followed and Gill, too, said the same.
However, Justice Minallah contradicted him saying that Gill made an irresponsible statement.
At one point during the hearing, Justice Minallah said that he believes Shehbaz Gill will not repeat his statement and that it was highly unlikely that Gill was involved in tempering the evidence.
The court also observed that the PTI government introduced draconian laws when it was in power. Now, do you want to impose those laws, it court said.
When Gill’s counsel said that the court must consider the point that the current government was filing terror and sedition charges, Justice Minallah said that the PTI government also used such charges agaisnt its opponents.
