An Islamabad court on Sunday granted police two-day physical remand of former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry a day after he was arrested.
Fawad, currently a member of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party, was taken to an undisclosed location on Saturday after police raided his residence in Islamabad.
The former minister’s family had claimed he was “abducted from his house in Islamabad by officials in plainclothes when he was having breakfast”.
According to the first information report, Fawad was arrested in connection with a case registered at the Aabpara police station on August 22, 2022, under sections 109 (Punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341(Punishment for wrongful restraint), and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Today, Fawad was brought to an Islamabad district and sessions court in an armoured vehicle amid tight security. Footage run on television showed the former minister handcuffed while his face was covered with a piece of cloth.
The IPP leader’s brother and wife Hiba Chaudhry were also present in court.
At the outset of the hearing, Fawad requested Duty Magistrate Abbas Shah for permission to meet his lawyer, which was granted.
During the hearing, the police contended that Fawad was arrested on an FIR lodged by a citizen namely Zaheer and read it out loud in the courtroom.
The investigating officer said Fawad, during his tenure as the federal minister, had promised Zaheer a job in return for 0.5 million but never hired him. “When the complainant asked for his money, Fawad threatened him,” he added.
For his part, Fawad told the judge that he was a former federal minister and a serving Supreme Court lawyer. He also requested access to a doctor citing health issues.
“The person named Zaheer is so lazy that he could not even come to court,” he added.
After hearing the arguments, the court granted police 2-day remand of the IPP leader.
