ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices in response to a request for bail moved by Awami Muslim League (AML) chairman Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad who was arrested on February 2 after he accused former president Asif Zardari of plotting to kill ex-prime minister Imran Khan.
The petition said the case against Ahmad, a staunch critic of the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, appeared to be politically motivated and based on a complaint from a third party.
Police say his arrest came after a complaint from Inayat ur-Rehman, president of the Rawalpindi chapter of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who claimed Ahmad was inciting people to violence by levelling a “serious allegation” against Zardari.
Khan has accused Zardari of plotting to kill him by hiring an assassin from an unnamed militant group. Zardari denies that and has sued Khan.
The high court has given a deadline of February 16 for the parties involved to respond to the bail petition.
Salman Akram Raja represented Ahmad in court and requested an early date for the next hearing, observing that the former minister is an elderly man.
A former cricket star-turned-politician, Khan was wounded in a gun attack while leading a rally toward Islamabad last November. One of his supporters was killed and several others were wounded in the shooting.
Since then, Khan has been leading an antigovernment campaign from his home in Lahore. He wants the government to agree to a snap vote. The government has rejected that demand, saying the elections will be held on time later this year.
— With AP
