ISLAMABAD, : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday extended the protective bail granted to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill in Masjid-e-Nabvi ‘desecration’ case until May 9.
IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Athar Minallah also exempted Gill from appearance on the next hearing of the case besides ordering clubbing his case with other identical petitions.
Speaking in the courtroom, Gill said his only crime was that he belonged to a middle class, and not to a landlord, family.
“I give tit-for-tat reply to scathing remarks against my leader Imran Khan; that is my crime,” he said, and added, “I am the first victim of the coalition government’s vengeance. Only recently Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that PTI leaders should be crushed. I am afraid I may not be able to appear in the court on the next hearing given the political victimization by the present government.”
Cutting him short, CJ Minallah asked him not to utter such ‘ominous’ words.
The PTI leader claimed that he was a law-abiding citizen, and had always respected the court verdicts; be they are in his favour or against him. “I never even got a case registered against any of my opponents; did not exploit PECA,” he added.
Only four days ago, on May 6, 2022 (Monday), the IHC had restrained the administration from harassing and taking any action against PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry and Shahbaz Gill while issuing notices to the parties concerned in the Masjid-e-Nabawi desecration case.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued this order during the hearing of petitions submitted to the court earlier today on behalf of former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and former advisor Gill, who had challenged the registration of cases against the PTI leaders including the duo, PTI Chief Imran Khan, Sheikh Rashid and others in the alleged defilement of Masjid-e-Nabawi by them.
