Police on Tuesday clarified tha
t the case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for delivering provocative speeches from London ‘to defame institutions’ was registered on complaint of a private citizen and no
t the State of Pakistan.
In a statement, a spokesperson of Lahore police said that a first information report (FIR) agains
t the ex-premier and
other senior PML-N leaders including Azad Kashmir’s PM Raja Farooq Haider was lodged on the complaint of a citizen.
The Shahdara police had registered the FIR on October 1 under sections 120, 120B, 121, 121A, 123A, 124, 124A, 153, 153A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 10 of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 agains
t the PML-N leadership.
The police spokesperson said the reports circulating in the media tha
t the FIR was filed on behal
f of the state or a state institution are not true and the case was filed on the complaint of a citizen, Badar Rasheed son of Rasheed Khan, a resident
of Mohallah Khurshid Park, Shahdara. “While processing the application as per the rules, Shahdara police had registered the case under the provisions of the law,” he said, adding, “the investigations are underway on merit and action would be taken only against those found guilty of the charges”.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that Badar Rasheed, the man behind the sedition case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has a criminal record – including an attempted murder charge – with cases registered against him in multiple police stations of Lahore. The police said that Rasheed has cases of attempted murder, illegal weapons and interference in government matters lodged against him. Interestingly, the attempted murder case has been registered in the Shahdra Police Station, the same police station where the sedition case was registered.
On the
other hand, an illegal weapons case has been registered in the Sharqpur police station of Lahore, whereas a case of interference in government matters and a scuffle with police has been registered in the Old Anarkali Police Station. The police also confirmed that Rasheed had also been arrested in some cases. It also said that he had also fought an election for a Union Council chairman post on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket.
Meanwhile, pictures of Rasheed along with Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar also emerged on Tuesday. It was reported that Rasheed was the president of PTI’s youth wing in Ravi Town. A spokesperson of the Punjab governor, however, distanced him from the pictures saying tha
t the Sarwar had no role in the lodging of the case against Nawaz Sharif. The spokesperson also said that multiple people visi
t the Punjab governor and it was a matter of ‘routine’ to take pictures with him.
On the
other hand, PML-N’s lawmaker in Punjab Azma Bukhari alleged tha
t the case against Nawaz was registered a
t the behest of Sarwar, adding that Sarwar is the Centre’s representative in Punjab. She said tha
t the complainant, Badar Rasheed, has been seen in photos alongside Chaudhry Sarwar, Sheikh Rashid and Ijaz Chaudhry.
Bukhari said that tha
t the man fough
t the elections on a PTI ticket for union council chairman. She claimed that he is also a member of the “labour wing”. She said that five cases have been registered against Rasheed, including on charges of robbery and attempted murder. “Imran Khan’s precious
patriot is no more than a criminal,” she said.