Daily Times

Incarcerated Awami Muslim League chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday filed a plea in the anti-terrorism court (ATC) seeking medical examination, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.

As per details, the former minister filed the plea through his lawyer, Sardar Shehzad, and urged the Court to transfer the AML chief to a government hospital.

The plea stated that Sheikh Rasheed’s health had deteriorated, but he was not allowed to meet his lawyer. Furthermore, the plea urged the Court to order a medical examination and summon the medical report of the jailed former interior minister amid health concerns.

Moreover, the ATC issued a contempt court notice to the jail superintendent for not allowing Sheikh Rasheed to meet his lawyer. After hearing the contempt plea filed by the AML chief’s lawyer, the Court summoned the jail superintendent, Asad Javed Warraich, on January 26 in a personal capacity.

Yesterday, an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi sent Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in the May 9 riots case.

Rasheed, arrested in the May 9 riots case registered against him at the New Town police station of Rawalpindi, was produced before an ATC judge. He is accused of planning vandalism and attack on a sensitive installation on May 9, following the arrest of the former prime minister.

Police sought a physical remand of the former interior minister. However, the Court rejected it and sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand. Fearing arrest, the former minister vowed to contest the election from prison on Monday. It is pertinent to mention here that Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed last year condemned the May 9 riots and called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief a ‘stubborn.’

Talking to a private news channel, the former interior minister said he had been on a ‘Chilla’ (apparently spending time underground) for the last 40 days.