Islamabad police raids PTI leader Shahbaz Gill's apartment, recovers arms

Imran Khan's close aide and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Shahbaz Gill's room at Parliament Lodges was raided by police contingents today in the presence of Gill who was brought to the location amid strict security measures.

The police team led by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) found arms in his room and the team also confiscated different cards and other items, according to ARY News.

However, Shahbaz Gill stated that it was not his weapon and claimed that someone else entered his room in his absence.

The condition of his room was changed when he was brought back to the Parliament Lodges, Gill said, expressing suspicion that someone else had placed the pistol in his room after his arrest.

Earlier in the day, an Islamabad court handed PTI leader Shahbaz Gill to Islamabad police for two-day physical remand after he was shifted from PIMS. The court after listening to the arguments reserved its verdict and later directed the police to present Gill before the court on August 24, ARY News reported.

Gill was arrested on charges of colluding with a private Pakistani TV news channel in carrying out propaganda against the state. Police said that he was arrested for making statements against the state institutions and inciting the people to rebel.

The Pakistani publication claimed that the PTI leader had attempted to incite hatred in the Pakistan Army while speaking on ARY News a day prior, which has been restricted in certain parts of the country.

Notably, regulatory watchdog PEMRA has alleged that the ARY News channel was airing "false, hateful and seditious" content based on "absolute disinformation with a clear and present threat to national security by instigating rebellion within the armed forces."

Amid the Pakistan government's crackdown on private television broadcaster ARY News for carrying out "anti-state propaganda", the founder and CEO of the network Salman Iqbal along with two of its news anchors have been booked under sedition charges.

Gill was arrested by the police on August 9 after he made controversial remarks against the Pakistan army on television that were deemed as "highly hateful and seditious" by the country's media authority.

Imran's close aide was arrested on charges of colluding with a private TV news channel in carrying out anti-state propaganda.Notably, Pakistan's regulatory watchdog PEMRA has alleged that the ARY News channel was airing "false, hateful and seditious" content based on "absolute disinformation with a clear and present threat to national security by instigating rebellion within the armed forces.