A local court in Islamabad granted on Wednesday a two-day physical remand of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in a sedition case.

The PTI leader was produced before the district and sessions court in Islamabad’s F-8 area. The Islamabad Police had sought an eight-day physical remand of the PTI leader, however, the court did not approve their request.

During the hearing, Fawad asked the court that he wanted to talk to his family for five minutes and five minutes to his lawyers. “I am a lawyer of the Supreme Court,” he added.

According to the reports a huge contingent of police has been deputed to avoid any untoward incident as a large number of PTI leaders and workers are also present outside the court.

Earlier in the day the Lahore High Court turned down the petition for the recovery of PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry saying that his arrest was not unlawful.

LHC’s Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh was hearing the petition challenging the arrest of the PTI leader.

During the hearing Inspector General (IG) Punjab Dr Usman Anwar told the court that Fawad was in the custody of Islamabad Police. The police also submitted the FIR registered against the PTI leader to the LHC.

Earlier the LHC had summoned the inspector generals of Islamabad and Punjab police after the authorities failed to produce PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry before it.

The court had also directed the authorities that even if Fawad had reached Islamabad, he should be brought back and presented before the court.

Earlier a court in Lahore’s Cantt approved a one-day transit remand for PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, allowing the police to move the PTI leader to Islamabad.

After the court appearance, police took Fawad to Lahore Services Hospital for a medical examination before a planned departure for Islamabad. However, the Lahore High Court has also directed the police to produce before it by 1:30pm.

PTI Chief Imran Khan has announced that he will hold a media talk at 4pm.

The arrest

Fawad was arrested early on Wednesday morning after an Election Commission official filed an FIR that there were threats to his life because of the PTI leader’s comments.

A handcuffed Fawad Chaudhary was produced before the court for the transit remand.

The investigating officer requested the court to grant a transit remand to the Islamabad Police since the case was registered in the federal capital. Fawad Chaudhry said that he was proud of the allegations made againts him because ‘the same alleagations were also used against Nelson Mandela’. The PTI leader also raised questions about the mode of his arrest, saying that had he been called by investigating agencies he would have presented himself.

“Fawad Chaudhry reached home from Zaman Park and was arrested there,” PTI’s Farrukh Habib told Aaj News. “I was close by when I heard. I tried to follow the police cars and tried to stop them. But there were too many. They took the exit at Thokar Niaz Baig they headed to the motorway.”

PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that no one knew where he had been taken.

PTI’s official Twitter account said Fawad was being taken to the Cantt court by officials of the police and Counter Terrorism Department, Lahore.

The FIR was registered at Kohsar police station at midnight. It was registered on an application by ECP Secretary Omar Hameed. It said that in an interview on a TV channel, Fawad said the secretary Election Commission was a clerk or munshi and signed whatever decision he was told to. The PTI leader had said that if this is what the secretary is going to do, he should just go home.

“We will hound you until we duly punish you,” Fawad was quoted by the ECP secretary as saying in the FIR.

There is a threat to his life, the secretary said.

Fawad had said that the ECP official was a rubber stamp. He would do as he was told; if he is told to make Mohsin Naqvi Punjab’s chief minister, he signs off on it. In the interview he said that they would keep going after them, until they were punished, They would send home people who were cheating the people of Pakistan. All the people who took part in the May 25 case are being brought back. He reiterated the PTI’s claim that all the officials who helped government halt the party’s long march are now given charge of the province.

The federal capital police, according to sources, arrived in Lahore to arrest Fawad Chaudhry. The FIR was not clear until morning. Four sections have been applied and it is not immediately clear if they are bailable offences or non-bailable offences.

It is likely he will be presented in court as he cannot be held beyond 24 hours without being produced in front of a magistrate. There will be attempts to secure remand.

Section 153 has been added to the FIR. It refers to the offence of provoking a riot. If there is a riot then the person who provoked it can be jailed for a year and fined and if there is no riot as a result of their provocation, six months.

There were fears that Imran Khan would be arrested, prompting PTI workers to head to Zaman Park. PTI workers gathered there overnight.

Fawad was arrested at the request of a Constitutional institution, the Islamabad police confirmed.

Fawad threatened the chief election commissioner and members to prevent them from performing their duties, it said in a tweet, alleging that the PTI leader tried to incite violence against the constitutional institutions and inflame the sentiments of the people.

Condemnation

As soon as the story broke out, the number of PTI supporters gathered outside their party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore increased. They were already there to avert the government’s apparent intentions to arrest the former premier.

They had gathered after the party in a tweet said that there were reports that the government would arrest Imran tonight. Fawad’s tweet before the arrest shows that he was also protesting outside Imran’s residence along with other party leaders.

PTI leaders condemned the arrest and slammed the ruling coalition for the development.

Shireen Mazari described the FIR as “ridiculous”. She wondered how mere a criticism can lead to an “act of terror”

“How is criticising ECP decisions & even ECP members a call to violence against their families? SC decisions r criticised but ECP decisions can’t be?”

The former ruling party in its tweet termed Fawad’s arrest as an apparent attempt to suppress “freedom of expression and fundamental rights”.

Maleeka Bokhari, who is part of the party’s legal experts, demanded that Fawad must be released “immediately & this political victimisation must stop”.

Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi questioned on what grounds his fellow party leader was arrested.

Reacting to the way development took place, PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan said Fawad was not a terrorist.

Background to May 25

Before the long march led by Imran Khan to Islamabad on May 25, the Supreme Court had directed the administration to remove obstacles upon receiving assurances from the PTI that they would not move beyond a certain point.

Earlier, there had been clashes between PTI workers and the police at various places in Islamabad, during which police used teargas and trees were set on fire in the Blue Area.

The Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a venue for the PTI rally in the ground between H9 and G9 and ordered the government and the opposition to meet at 10 pm to settle matters. This meeting could not take place.

The next day, the long march under the leadership of Imran Khan entered the limits of Islamabad, but instead of stopping at the designated place of H9, it moved towards D Chowk where after giving a speech, Imran Khan announced the end of the march. Punjab’s chief minister was Hamza Shahbaz at the time.

This is a developing story.