Imran’s charge against judge — fact or fiction!

KARACHI: Was Shahbaz Gill, Chief of Staff of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, tortured in jail or not? Did Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry grant physical remand of Shahbaz Gill despite having the evidence of torture or was there no such evidence before her?

Without knowing the answers to these questions, Imran Khan spoke against Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry for which he is facing the contempt of court case. Were the allegations made by Imran Khan based on facts or was it another narrative?

An analysis of the facts was presented in the Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath on Friday. A treason FIR was registered against Shahbaz Gill on August 8 in Islamabad and he was arrested next day. The Islamabad police sought 14-day physical remand of Shahbaz Gill, but Magistrate Umar Shabir granted remand for only two days. When produced before the court again, Shahbaz Gill alleged he was tortured during police investigation. He said he did not undergo any medical test. He also showed torture marks on his body to the Magistrate. On that, Duty Magistrate Umar Shabir sent him on judicial remand.

After the court hearing, Imran Khan posted a tweet in which he condemned in strong words the torture on his Chief of Staff. He said Shahbaz Gill should be given fair chance to defend himself if he had violated any law. The police, however, denied any torture on Gill during his arrest.

On August 12, a criminal review plea filed by Advocate General was rejected by the Duty Magistrate. Next day, Islamabad High Court was approached against the decision of Duty Magistrate. The court directed the Sessions Court to rehear the case.

During the period between August 12 and August 16, Shahbaz Gill remained in Adiala Jail, and PTI torture narrative kept getting momentum. On August 16, Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry heard the remand case.

Meanwhile, Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar when asked about the matter said Shahbaz Gill himself refused to undergo any medical test. On August 17, Judge Zeba Chaudhry granted police 2-day physical remand of Shahbaz Gill. She ordered the investigation officer to get medical of Shahbaz Gill.

After the court decision, there wes news Shahbaz Gill’s health was not good. Then, Imran Khan reportedly directed the Adiala Jail staff concerned not to hand Shahbaz Gill over to Islamabad police. Imran reportedly threatened the police and put pressure on his ministers on the matter.

After four hours, the Islamabad police got the custody of Shahbaz Gill. The police took him to PIMS where he was examined. In the meanwhile, his lawyers moved the Islamabad High Court against extension to his remand and torture. A medical board examined him twice at PIMS. It reported he was asthmatic, feeling difficulty in breathing and pain in his chest and neck. The second check-up said he was stable after a pulmonologist cleared him. In this way, no report mentioned torture.

Judge Zeba Chaudhry sent Gill to jail on physical remand, as she had not received any report of torture. However, Imran continued to target her. When Gill was sent to PIMS for a medical examination, his videos appeared in which he looked healthy and talked to policemen.

In his August 20 public meeting, Imran Khan threatened the Islamabad IG and the additional IG and also called Zeba Chaudhry asking her to get ready for action. He then defended his statement the next day. On August 22, the Islamabad High Court decided to start contempt of court proceedings against him. It had neither been established that Shahbaz Gill had been tortured nor such a report was presented to Judge Zeba Chaudhry. Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar also said on record that Gill himself had refused to undergo a medical examination. However, Imran continued to repeat his allegations even after a terror case was registered against him. However, police officials denied the charges of torture of Gill.

However, according to Adiala jail police record, Gill had an injury and other marks on his body. While the Adiala jail is under the control of the Punjab government, Imran continued to threaten Zeba Chaudhry. He also defended his words in his public rallies. He failed to apologise despite repeated chances given to him by the court. Now, he will be indicted on September 22.