Islamabad [Pakistan], November 24 (ANI): A district and sessions court in Mardan on Friday rejected the police’s request for the physical remand of Pakistan’s former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
The court sent the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Qaiser to jail on a four-day judicial remand in a case related to protests held on May 9 after PTI chairman Imran Khan’s arrest.
On Friday, Qaiser was presented before a district and session court in Mardan. During the hearing, Charsadda police submitted a request seeking Qaiser’s five-day physical remand. However, the court rejected the request and sent Asad Qaiser to jail. The judge also asked police to produce Qaiser on November 29 along with the case record.
Initially, Qaiser was arrested on November 3 on charges of causing losses to the national exchequer through procurement irregularities in the Gajju Khan Medical College, according to Dawn report.
On Thursday, Asad Qaiser was granted bail by an anti-corruption court in the case. However, the PTI leader was rearrested from his residence hours later in a case related to the ransacking of the Charsadda Toll Plaza on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway on May 9.
After Asad Qaiser’s release from prison in Swabi, a joint team of Swabi and Charsadda police arrested him. Speaking to Dawn, Qaiser’s brother, Waheed Khan said that three cases related to May 9 violence were lodged against his brother. He said that one case was lodged in Swabi, another in Islamabad and the third in Charsadda.
After his arrest on Thursday, Qaiser posted a video message calling on PTI supporters to continue their lawful struggle and aim for a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls, Dawn reported.
In the video posted on X, Qaiser said, “I tell my Pakistani brothers that you should not be afraid. We believe in the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.”
Asad Qaiser said, “It’s election time, and they (the establishment) are trying to take us to the other side, but we will continue our struggle within the limits of law,” Dawn reported.
“We have only one demand: Pakistan should be governed according to the Constitution and the law. There should be a level playing field for all political parties,” he added. (ANI)
