Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan was remanded into police custody for three days after an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad approved investigators’ request for further questioning in a case arising from a protest in the capital.
The order was issued by ATC Duty Judge Rukhsanda Shaheen after police presented Mushtaq and another suspect, Daniyal, before the court.
Prosecutors had sought a 30-day physical remand, arguing that investigators needed more time to recover a vehicle and weapons they alleged were linked to the case.
The court granted a three-day remand instead and ordered the suspects to be brought back once the period expires.
The case relates to a protest for which an FIR was lodged at Shalimar Police Station on July 31.
According to the police complaint, Mushtaq and several associates led a gathering of roughly 400 to 500 people in Islamabad’s F-10 sector.
Investigators alleged that he addressed the crowd through loudspeakers, delivered what the FIR described as “incendiary” speeches and raised slogans against “current government institutions”.
Police also claimed that businesses in the area were forced to close during the protest.
The FIR further alleged that the demonstrators moved from F-10 towards Sumbal Road intending to march to Main Jinnah Avenue and block traffic.
It said that officials from the district administration instructed the crowd to disperse because the event had been organised without a No-Objection Certificate (NOC), an official permit required for certain public gatherings.
Police alleged that protesters subsequently blocked a road near Shalimar Plaza at about 7:10pm, damaged a media DSNG vehicle and several privately owned cars, threw stones at officers, seized anti-riot helmets and threatened police personnel.
The proceedings follow Mushtaq’s brief disappearance last week. His Pakistan Rights Movement (PRM) claimed he had been detained by Punjab police on July 28 while returning through Kahuta Bazaar after allegedly being prevented from entering Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Rawalpindi police officials, speaking off the record, denied he was in custody. A day later, Mushtaq’s account on X announced his release and called for the July 31 gathering in Islamabad, saying it would be held to “express condolences, solidarity with Kashmir and for peace and reconciliation”.
