The Judge of a lower court on Wednesday refused to give physical remand of Mumtaz Qadri, who allegedly killed Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, and directed the Joint Investigation Team to present the accused before the Anti-Terrorist Court on Thursday.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had presented Mumtaz Qadri before the Judicial Magistrate Kamran Basharat Mufti and requested for five-day physical remand of the accused to interrogate him regarding the assassination.
No judge of the lower court has the authority to hear the cases regarding terrorism and only special anti-terrorist court could hear such cases; the judge ruled and directed the JIT to present the accused in Anti-Terrorism Court. Mumtaz Qadri was brought to District Courts Islamabad in tight security, and entire area was cordoned off by Islamabad Police and commandos. Media and common people were kept at a distance from the court area.