Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed by Rawalpindi CPO on Friday that PTI ally and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid was arrested from the limits of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Police has no knowledge of the matter.

IHC’s Rawalpindi bench took up the case pertaining to former interior minister Rashid, his nephew and his employee’s disappearance. The bench, comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, rejected the CPO’s report and summoned Rawalpindi regional police officer Khurram Ali on September 26. How can it be that a former minister and two others go missing from the city and the police have no knowledge of the matter, remarked Justice Khan during the hearing. Meanwhile, Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal of the same court rejected the request to immediately de-seal Rashid’s residence Lal Haveli.

Instead, the court fixed the matter for hearing on September 26 and summoned the Punjab Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairperson and Rawalpindi deputy administrator, directing them to bring their respective reports on the matter. The bench directed the petitioner to await the reports of the respective departments before seeking further action.

This petition was brought before Justice Iqbal due to Justice Jawad Hassan being on leave. The petitioner had submitted that Lal Haveli is owned by Rashid’s elder brother Sheikh Siddiqui and was registered in 1988. It is illegal to seal it, argued the petition, seeking action against the ETPB chairperson.

Rashid, who served as the federal interior minister during ousted prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure and heads the Awami Muslim League (AML), was at his home in a private housing society on the outskirts of Islamabad on Sunday (September 17) when purported Rawalpindi Police personnel and some officials in plain clothes, raided the place and detained him and three others. Reports said that after the arrest, the AML chief was transferred from Islamabad to Rawalpindi, Sheikh Rashid’s native town, amid heightened security.

However, in a statement issued later that night, a spokesperson of the Rawalpindi Police denied the arrest and claimed Rashid was not in their custody. Shortly after, Rashid’s lawyer, Sardar Abdul Razzaq, issued a video statement, asserting that Rawalpindi Police had indeed detained his client from his residence in the Lohi Bher area.

On September 22, Punjab ETPB sealed Lal Haveli amid heavy presence of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) personnel and police.

The ETPB reclaimed the property allegedly on the orders of the Supreme Court as its team led by Deputy Administrator Asif Khan completely sealed the Lal Haveli without any hindrance.