LAHORE: A judicial magistrate at Model Town courts on Monday extended the physical remand of PML-N MNA Javed Latif for another two days in a case of inciting people against state institutions.

The police produced Latif before the court amid strict security arrangements where scores of party workers were already gathered to express solidarity with the arrested MNA.

The investigating officer requested the court to extend the remand of Latif for two days as the investigation was yet to be completed. He said the custody of the suspect was required to trace his accomplices in the conspiracy against the state besides his polygraph test.

Speaking before the court, Latif asked the magistrate to grant his 14-day remand to the police instead of two days.

Latif’s lead counsel Farhad Ali Shah did not appear before the court, however, a proxy counsel opposed further remand saying the police could not have custody of an accused beyond 14 days. He said the police had already secured physical remand of Latif for 13 days.

Duty Magistrate Abdul Sattar granted the police remand of the MNA for another two days and the counsel withdrew his power of attorney in protest. The magistrate directed the police to produce the accused on May 12.

In a brief conversation with the media, Latif said an elected representative would violate his oath if did not point out wrongs of the state institutions. He claimed to have chosen path of the founder of Pakistan. He lamented that the representatives of the people had been declared ‘traitor’ in the past too.

Township police registered an FIR on the complaint of citizen Jameel Saleem under sections 120/120B, 153/153A, 500, 505(i)(B) and 506 of Pakistan Penal Code. The sections deal with the offences of causing incitement against the state institutions, including the army, and promoting enmity between different groups.

In a television programme, he had said his party would not say “Pakistan Khappay” (long live Pakistan) if anything happened to its vice president Maryam Nawaz. He was arrested on April 27 after a sessions court withdrew his pre-arrest bail.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2021