After the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to ex-Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Thursday in a case related to remarks against Asif Ali Zardari, an Islamabad-based court announced on Saturday to frame charges against the former minister on March 2.
The Awami Muslim League (AML) chief, a key ally of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, appeared in the court of judicial magistrate Umar Shabbir along with his lawyer on Saturday. He was seeking the registration of a case against the Abpara police station SHO for not returning his belongings.
Islamabad Police presented a challan against the AML chief in the court, and Judicial Magistrate Umar Bashir fixed the date of March 2 for indictment.
During the hearing, Sheikh Rashid requested the court to give a date of March 15 as he had to participate in a conference, to which the court replied that the orders of the high court had been issued and they could not prolong the matter.
Multiple cases were registered against the senior-most politician in the country after he backed Imran Khan’s allegations that Zardari was plotting to kill him. Initially, Rashid, according to the police, was arrested in the case of levelling allegations against Zardari on February 2.
A day later, the Murree Police also registered a case against him. An FIR was also registered against Rashid for using “filthy” language against Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto at the Mochko police station in Karachi. A similar case was also registered against him in Lasbela.
Earlier this week, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to the AML chief in the case.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had presided over the hearing of Rashid’s post-arrest bail plea and announced the reserved verdict, and issued an order for the former interior minister to deposit surety bonds of Rs50,000.
