ISLAMABAD   -    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill petition seeking his post-arrest bail in a sedition case registered against him on Wednesday. A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah will conduct hearing of Gill’s petition, wherein, the PTI leader adopted the stance that evidence of tor­ture was found on him and thus, the court may grant him post-arrest bail in this matter. 

Previously, the IHC bench is­sued notices to the respondent SHO Kohsar and others and di­rected them to submit their re­sponse in this matter. Earlier, a local court in the capital had turned down his bail plea and observed that despite being a responsible person, Gill made a sensational statement that was enough to disturb the harmony and discipline of the Pakistan Army. In an eight-page verdict, an Additional Sessions Judge said that Gill was a leader of a popular national-level party PTI and he had not made the said statement in an indoor meeting. The court order said that the accused had prima facie com­mitted a crime under Section 131, which was a non-bailable offense and that there was solid evidence on record against him. 

After rejection of bail plea, the PTI leader moved the IHC and cited SHO Kohsar, City Magis­trate and others as respondents in the petition. He stated that on August 17, a medical board consisting of senior doctors of the Pakistan Institute of Medi­cal Sciences (PIMS) conducted an examination and according to both, the medical board of Adiala Jail and PIMS, evidence of torture was found on the petitioner and therefore the court may grant post-arrest bail. The petitioner requested the court that the bail may be granted to the PTI leader till the final decision of the case.

Gill maintained that the case registered against him was po­litically motivated with ulterior motives and malafide intentions. Gill argued that for charges un­der mutiny and sedition, approv­al and sanction of the federal government is a pre-requisite and claimed that neither the same was granted in this case. 

He contended that 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 pe­titioner also argued that the FIR against Gill was 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. 

He further said 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. Gill continued that these repeated attempts were made to incarcerate him clearly and ob­viously point towards political victimization of the petitioner. He added that it is, therefore, a politically motivated case in which offences have recklessly been applied. He maintained that the allegations against him were vague, misconstrued, and based on incorrect facts and prayed to the court that his speech on ARY News had to be seen in totality to get the real meaning and con­text intended to be conveyed. He also mentioned the alleged tor­ture against him and contended that the PTI leader was subjected to physical abuse, torture and violence during the custody. The PTI leader further said that he was suffering from genuine and serious medical complications and required sophisticated treat­ment and medical care which, unfortunately, is not available in prison. He mentioned that more­over, the jail authorities observed bruises and marks of violence on different parts of his body.