ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Monday granted police a three-day physical remand of defence analyst Lieutenant General (r) Amjad Shoaib, who was arrested on charges of inciting the public against national institutions.

The former senior army officer was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah. The prosecutor Adnan requested the court to grant seven-day physical remand of Lt Gen (r) Amjad Shoaib, which the court rejected and granted three-day physical remand. The Prosecutor contended that the former senior army officer, through his statement on television, tried to spread hate between the government, the opposition and the government employees.

A team of lawyers comprising Mudassir Khalid Abbasi, Riasat Ali Azad and Qaiser Imam opposed the prosecutor’s request for physical remand pleaded the court to discharge the case, as the sections inserted in the FIR did not apply to Amjad Shoaib. They said Mr Shoaib only gave an example of a certain situation. They contended that the case registered against their client was ‘politically motivated’.

Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib was arrested from his residence in the federal capital by the personnel of Ramna Police Station on early Monday. A first information report (FIR) was registered against him on February 25 at Ramna Police Station, Islamabad.

The case was registered against him, on the complaint of Islamabad Magistrate Owais Khan, under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc.) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

According to the FIR, the former senior army officer incited people to revolt against institutions and attempted to provoke disharmony, and anarchy and create a law and order situation in the country through his controversial statements made on a TV show.