Screengrab of the police raid at Shahbaz Gill’s rooms in Parliament Lodges
Islamabad Police on Monday night conducted a raid of the Parliament Lodges residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s chief of staff, Shahbaz Gill, recovering weapons, a satellite phone and foreign currency.
According to local media, Gill accompanied the police during the raid, which was conducted under the supervision of a senior superintendent of police. Footage of the raid, broadcast on several private channels, showed the police recovering a pistol that Gill said did not belong to him. To questions, he also alleged that the room’s contents had been “shifted” since he was last in it and he believed someone had entered it during his absence.
It is unclear who he was referring to, as he also admitted that his guards and driver would often stay in the Parliament Lodges.
In addition, police recovered a mobile phone, a satellite phone and several USBs. They also located Gill’s wallet, which he said had been in the possession of his driver, which contained two of his CNICs. Two passports were also recovered from the room. A diary was also found in Gill’s room, which the PTI leader claimed did not belong to him.
Local media claimed that police had raided Gill’s room in a bid to recover the “script” for the statement he gave to ARY News in which he appeared to incite the public against the armed forces. Gill is facing a sedition charge over the statement, which the PTI has alternately defended or condemned.
During the raid, a journalist questioned whether Gill had been sexually assaulted after being taken into police custody, as alleged by Khan, which he answered in the affirmative. A medical report submitted to court by doctors of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said it had not found any evidence of sexual abuse.
According to local media, police also raided Gill’s room in Punjab House on Monday night but did not find any of his personal property there.
Earlier on Monday, a district and sessions court in Islamabad granted police two-day physical remand of Gill in the sedition case after reviewing his medical report from PIMS staff. He has been in police custody since Aug. 9.