Sheikh Rashid, a political ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was granted post-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on February 16th. Rashid was previously arrested by the Islamabad police on February 2nd, after he made claims on television that former President Asif Ali Zardari was involved in alleged assassination plot against PTI chief Imran Khan. The court had granted the police his two-day physical remand, and a similar case was filed against him in Murree on February 3rd.
Rashid’s post-arrest bail plea had been rejected twice by Islamabad’s sessions court, prompting him to approach the IHC seeking release. During the hearing, Rashid’s counsel informed the court that there was no evidence suggesting that his statement led to any clash between PTI and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The court approved Rashid’s bail plea against the submission of a surety bond of Rs50,000.
Rashid was arrested on a complaint filed by the vice president of PPP Rawalpindi Division, Raja Inayatur Rehman. He alleged that the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief had claimed during a television interview on January 27th that Zardari got the assistance of some terrorists to plan former prime minister Imran Khan’s murder. The first information report (FIR) was registered at Islamabad’s Aabpara Police Station under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc.), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Several other cases were filed against Rashid, including allegations of manhandling a police officer and using filthy language against PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. A string of charges was lodged against him, which led to his previous bail pleas being rejected by Islamabad’s sessions court. However, the IHC has now granted him post-arrest bail in the aforementioned case.