ISLAMABAD: The only major Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) detainee to be brought to the district courts on Saturday was Asif Nazar Butt, better known as the sound engineer DJ Butt.

But in an exclusive interview to Dawn, the DJ apparently betrayed the trust of his adoring fans and supporters within the party by admitting that he was a ‘hired gun’ and would work for anyone, including the ruling party, if they paid him well enough.

Also read: DJ Butt arrested in Islamabad

Police produced the DJ in a room on the first floor of the Excise and Taxation Office (ETO), adjacent to the district courts building in Sector F-8 and the premises were declared a courtroom. This was done ostensibly to dodge the mob of PTI supporters who were wreaking havoc outside the court premises at the time.

Special magistrate retired Captain Waqas Rasheed, who was supposed to grant the remand, locked the temporary courtroom and was seen walking outside.

Nearly half a dozen attorneys from the PTI’s lawyers’ forum, including regional presidents Shiraz Ranjha and Farrukh Dall, remained with DJ Butt and conveyed to him messages from their party chief Imran Khan to boost his morale.

Police trick PTI supporters, produce sound engineer in building adjacent to district courts

Talking to Dawn, Butt said that he was a professional sound engineer and had been working with the party since 2011. Narrating the details of his arrest, Butt said that on September 12 at about 3:30am, he was in a rest house in Sector G-6/4, located near the PTI’s Central Secretariat, when half a dozen policemen knocked on his door.

“When I opened the door, they booked me and moved me to an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) parked outside.”

“They blindfolded me and shifted me to a police station, then they brought me to Golra police station,” he added.

“They provided me substandard food and kept me in miserable conditions to teach me a lesson, just because I played music at the PTI sit-in,” he alleged.

While DJ Butt was in handcuffs when this reporter met him, he had complete liberty to use his mobile phone and remained in contact not only with the PTI leadership, but also with various news channels and kept giving them ‘beepers’ on his arrest.

He said that his unbeatable skills in operating the sound system kept protesters on Constitution Avenue charged and that his work was even appreciated by party chief Imran Khan. This was why the government ordered his arrest, he claimed.

The DJ revealed that he had no loyalties to the party he was facilitating, saying that he was a ‘hired gun’. “Providing these services is part of my job. I am ready to work for the PML-N too, if they pay me well enough,” the sound engineer said.

But DJ Butt looked upset due to the absence of the special magistrate, which forced him to wait the narrow, congested corridor outside the magistrate’s room. The heat and humidity apparently got to the dandy DJ, who looked profusely sweaty while sitting in the Taxation Office.

The special magistrate, it turned out, was waiting outside the courtroom and was monitoring the angry PTI workers who were damaging police vehicles outside. Though the workers were few in number, they continued chanting anti-government slogans and kept things tense.

While this was going on outside, the magistrate quietly ordered that the arrested individuals be sent on judicial remand.

Detention extended

The detention of Gullu Butt was extended on Saturday for another month.

District Coordination Officer Mohammad Usman had proposed detention of Gullu Butt, an accused allegedly involved in damaging vehicles of the people in Model Town incident, for another month.

DCO’s spokesman Tariq Zaman confirmed to Dawn that Mr Usman had written to the home department to extend detention of Gullu Butt through 30 MPO for one month. Butt is currently detained at Kot Lakhpat Jail.