Sheikh Rasheed’s bail application was rejected by a district and sessions court in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Judge Omar Shabbir announced the verdict which was reserved a few hours ago.

Rasheed is currently in Adiala jail on a judicial remand. He had requested bail claiming that charges against him were ‘politically motivated’ and that he was being mistreated in custody.

The politician was arrested last Wednesday from a private housing society in Islamabad. He is accused of making allegations against Asif Zardari in a TV show. Cases have also been registered against him in Murree and Karachi.

Sheikh Rasheed had talked about Imran Khan’s claims that Asif Zardari was preparing a plot against the PTI chief’s life. His lawyers maintained in court that Rasheed had only quoted Imran Khan and not made a statement on his own.

Rasheed’s lawyers also argued that the case against him was filed by a private citizen, not a state official and the private citizen in question was an office holder of the Pakistan People’s Party. They argued that this was ample evidence of the case being politically motivated. They also said that the police had taken away two of Rasheed’s bullet proof vehicles.

The proecutor, arguing against the bail, said that the Rasheed’s statements amounted to ‘incitement’ and were an attempt to pit two groups against each other.