Approving three-day physical remand, the court of judicial magistrate at Malir on Monday handed the PTI Sindh President Ali Haider Zaidi to police in a “fraud case”.
Ali Zaidi was arrested on Saturday on charges of fraud and issuing threats in a case registered against him at the Ibrahim Hyderi Police Station in the metropolis by a citizen named Fazal Elahi. During the hearing on Monday, the court also rejected the PTI leader’s plea seeking to discharge from the case.
At the outset of the hearing, the police told the court that they had presented the former minister within 24 hours of arrest.
Zaidi’s lawyer maintained that it was not a criminal offence and added: “It falls under the jurisdiction of a civil court instead of a criminal court.”
“The FIR doesn’t state anything about how the transaction was made until now. Neither, the complainant had attached a bank cheque or anything else as the evidence of any exchange, with the complaint,” the lawyer said. He objected to the delay in filing the complaint since the matter pertains to 2013 and asked if the police had the authority to register a case in such a matter. “The complainant gave such a big amount but there is no witness for that. Ali Zaidi should be discharged under Section 63 of CrPC,” the lawyer requested the court.
Meanwhile, Zaidi claimed that the police hadn’t presented him within 24 hours as he had been arrested on Saturday but the police claimed they had arrested him after midnight.
He maintained that he had never met the man who had lodged the case against him. “I don’t have that much money, check my record with FBR,” he said, claiming that he was not in the country on the day the incident happened according to the case details. At this point, Zaidi’s passport was submitted to the court. While giving arguments, the petitioner’s lawyer maintained that Zaidi used to work in the real estate business. “They are diverting the case towards a case of political victimisation,” the lawyer argued, calling for an investigation into “financial murders”.
He requested the court to send Zaidi into physical remand. The court then reserved the verdict which was announced later. Meanwhile, a local court reserved its judgment on post-arrest bail petition of the PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur in a case registered by Golra Police Station. Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan heard the bail case of PTI’s leader filed through his lawyer Sher Afzal Murawat. At the outset of hearing, Prosecutor Muhammad Adnan said the prosecution had collected the recording transcript of Gandapur’s telephonic calls aired by television channels from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and sent it for forensic analysis.
Preparations for creating unrest before any incident was also a crime, he said, adding the accused had changed his statement several times during custody. The police officials informed the court that report on the audiotape was yet awaited. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the FIR was registered against his client on the charges of instigating the public against institutions. The person to whom his client was talking as per the audiotape still did not come on surface, he said, adding the local TV channel should also have been named in the case for running the recording.
The lawyer said his client had not given such remarks at any public gathering. He was accused of gathering weapons, but he had never committed that crime. After hearing arguments, the court reserved its judgment and fixed the case for today (Tuesday) and also summoned the investigation officer of the case.
