By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Senior PTI leader Shahbaz Gill has finally been granted bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after repeatedly attempting to get released on bail in the sedition case filed against him.
Gill, the chief of staff for PTI Chairman Imran Khan, has been detained since last month when he was taken into custody following the filing of a treason charge against him for allegedly inciting rebellion within the Pakistan Army through his comments during a private TV channel show.
The Pakistan Penal Code Sections 124-A (sedition), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), and have all been invoked in the case against Gill.
The IHC was contacted by Gill last Friday after he made repeated attempts to obtain bail from a trial court but was unsuccessful.
The politician nominated Kohsar Police Station SHO, City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza and others as parties in the plea, stating that he was arrested by Kohsar police on August 9.
After hearing arguments from all involved parties in the case, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah ordered the authorities to release Gill on bail. Gill was ordered by the court to provide Rs. 500,000 as guarantee for his bail.
“The [right to be released on bond] should not be taken away from anyone unless there is no substantial proof against them. If further evidence proves the same person to be innocent, there would be no recourse “The court commented, noting that while an inquiry must continue, solid evidence must be highlighted.
The Pakistani military forces are not “weak that they would get affected” by careless statements made by someone, IHC CJ Minallah said earlier during the hearing.
But he made it clear that “Gill’s careless, inappropriate, and disparaging remarks cannot be justified in any case.”
In the meantime, Gill’s attorney, Barrister Salman Safdar, reaffirmed that the reason for the prosecution against Gill is that he is being targeted politically.
He asserted that Gill’s comment was directed at the PML-N rather than the armed forces and didn’t mention the military.
