Islamabad Sessions court has granted a two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi in a case related to May 9 riots.
Afridi was arrested on May 16 from his residence in Islamabad under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960.
The police accused him of instigating and planning to organize an unlawful assembly, committing violence, and delivering unlawful speeches that caused damage to human life and public/private properties.
Despite the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling against his detention orders on June 6, Afridi remained in a death cell at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, leading the IHC to warn capital police officials of potential contempt proceedings.
During the hearing presided over by Judge Naveed Khan, the investigation officer requested a five-day physical remand, citing pending photogrammetric and voice-matching tests.
Afridi’s counsel, Advocate Sher Afzal Marwat, objected to the request, stating that Afridi’s videos were obtained from social media, rendering the photogrammetric test unnecessary.
Advocate Marwat also requested that Afridi be allowed to meet his family, a request which the court granted.
Afridi’s family met him in the courtroom during the hearing, where he emotionally expressed his grief over not being permitted to attend his brother’s funeral.
Afridi emphasized his lectures on patriotism in universities and colleges and argued that his constitutional right to protest did not involve taking the law into his own hands.
Subsequently, the judge reserved his verdict and later granted the police a two-day physical remand of Afridi.
Responding to questions regarding his potential departure from the PTI, Afridi avoided giving a direct answer to media persons.
He denied allegations of being behind the 2019 arrest of the current Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah during the previous PTI government, emphasizing that the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was responsible for the arrest based on intelligence reports and evidence against Sanaullah.
Regarding several party leaders leaving the PTI, Afridi refrained from commenting on their departures, stating that only God knew the circumstances and reasons behind their decisions. He concluded by expressing his hope for strength during such trials in life.
