Jinnah House Vandalism Case: Lahore ATC Grants 20-Day Physical Remand of PTI Leader Hammad Azhar
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore handed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and ex federal minister Hammad Azhar over to the police for 20 days’ physical remand in the Jinnah House attack case.
The police in Lahore brought Azhar before an anti-terrorism court under tight security. After the announcement of the physical remand verdict, the police left with the PTI leader. In the process, the presiding Judge Malik Abid Hussain asked the media to leave the courtroom, and ordered the investigating officer and lawyers to stay in the courtroom.
The prosecution establishes arguments and demands for recovery.Prosecution arguments and recovery demands.
In the hearing, the prosecution has admitted that Hammad Azhar was duly arrested in the case of the attack on Jinnah House on May 9 and against whom he is specifically named.
The state counsels said it had to be physical custody to allow for additional investigations, retrieve the mobile phone allegedly used during the unrest and look at social media accounts used in the provocative digital campaigns during the May 9 riots. In addition, the prosecution asked to conduct a photogrammetric examination of the defendant.
Defense Counterarguments and Alibi
Hammad Azhar’s defence lawyer has questioned the physical remand noting that his client was in Gujranwala on May 9 and was not at Jinnah House during the incidents.
The defense said that the court could easily verify Azhar’s whereabouts through the geofences and he was ready to undergo photogrammetric tests and verification of his social media accounts, but remand could not be granted because of speculative future evidence.
Information about Outstanding Cases and High Court Petition.
According to police records, Hammad Azhar was wanted in 48 crimes across various jurisdictions of which 17 were of terror charges.
Azhar’s mother had approached Lahore High Court (LHC) for his recovery prior to his arrest in court, through a petition filed by Barrister Abu Zar Suleman Khan Niazi, where Punjab Inspector General of Police and the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) were put on record as the respondents.