A District and Sessions court of Islamabad rejected on Tuesday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill's bail petition in a sedition case, Aaj News reported.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zafar Iqbal announced the reserved verdict.
On August 9, Gill was arrested by Islamabad Police outside Banigala Chowk on charges of “making statements against state institutions and inciting the people to rebellion.”
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah claimed that Gill was arrested on charges of sedition.
On Monday, Iqbal reserved his judgment after hearing the arguments of Gill’s counsel Burhan Moazzam and that of special prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi.
Gill’s lawyers told the court that his client is ready to apologise for his controversial remarks but no one has the right to alter his remarks to blame him for treason.
Sedition case: Islamabad court sends Shahbaz Gill to jail on judicial remand
He further told the court that Gill never thought about committing treason. The case against Gill was registered on the basis of picking points from different parts of the transcript of his client’s statement, he said, adding that if there is any misunderstanding somewhere in the entire statement the accused was ready to clear it.
On August 10, the court had granted police two-day physical remand of Gill although the law enforcement agency had requested a 14-day remand.
On August 12, an Islamabad Court approved judicial remand for the former SAPM and rejected the police’s request for extension in the physical remand.