Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the former minister of the interior, was ordered to be brought before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday.
The LHC gave Rawalpindi police a “last chance” to find and bring back the Awami Muslim League (AML) chairman during a hearing last week.
Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan presided over today’s session, which was attended by Rashid’s lawyer and RPO Syed Khurram Ali. In court, the cop also filed an investigation report.
The court dismissed the report and issued an order for the RPO to return the PTI supporter within a week or face criminal charges.
You have gone too far. The judge ruled that charges will be filed against the “Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations,” “Deputy Superintendent of Police” (DSP), and “four Station House Officers” (SHOs) involved in Rashid’s arrest.
Rashid’s attorneys were asked to submit affidavits to the court by Judge Sadaqat after his arrest. Lawyers have stated that their client was taken into custody from his home and taken to an intelligence headquarters in the Golra Sharif neighbourhood. Videos documenting Rashid’s promotion to the intelligence office were also sought by the LHC.
While Rashid was detained, his nephew Sheikh Shakir and employee Sheikh Imran were released.
The LHC had already voiced its concern with the former interior minister’s arrest and offered authorities a “last chance” to release the PTI ally by October 2.
“Strict measures will be taken against the force if this is not done.”
The RPO was criticised by Justice Sadaqat of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench for their inability to locate and rescue the seasoned politician.
On September 17, Rashid and three others were detained in a raid at their home in a private housing society on the outskirts of Islamabad by alleged Rawalpindi Police troops and some officials in plain clothes. Later that night, however, a representative for the Rawalpindi Police Department issued a statement disputing the arrest and asserting that Rashid was not in police custody. Since then, he has vanished.
