Fawad Chaudhry handed over to police on two-day remand

• Fawad was arrested from his residence in Islamabad on Nov 4.
• Politician was brought to court handcuffed and face covered in cloth.
• Complaint filed against him for soliciting Rs5 million bribe.

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry was handed over to the police after a court in the federal capital approved a two-day remand of the politician, a day after he was arrested from his residence in Islamabad.

The court at the District Judicial Complex mandated a medical examination for the politician, directing the police to facilitate his meeting with family members.

The orders came following Fawad's arrest on Saturday, which his wife Hiba claimed was done without any reason. However, it was later revealed that the politician was taken into custody after a complaint was filed against him in Islamabad's Aabpara Police Station for soliciting a Rs5 million bribe in exchange for a job.

In the wake of Fawad's arrest, his brother and lawyer, Faisal Chaudhary, filed a petition to the magistrate, seeking his recovery and release.

The court then conducted a hearing on the plea during which the Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shahzad Gondal sought a report from the Islamabad police on the politician’s arrest.

His wife, Hiba Fawad Chaudhry, earlier claimed that her husband was apprehended and taken to an unidentified place with no reasons provided for his arrest.

Earlier today during the hearing, Fawad was brought to the District Judicial Complex under police security with his face covered with a cloth and hands tied using handcuffs.

The politico's wife and lawyers, Faisal and Faraz Chaudhry as well as Advocate Qamar Inayat Raja, were also present inside the courtroom, where he met them after seeking permission from duty judge Abbas Shah.

The politician's brother and lawyer questioned why Fawad's face was covered with a cloth.

The police, on the other hand, sought a five-day remand of the ex-minister, after a case against him was registered for taking a Rs5 million bribe in exchange for employment.

"Fawad Chaudhary was bitter over the demand for money, on which he threatened to kill me," the plaintiff said in the first information report (FIR) against the politician, claiming that he gave Rs5 million to the former minister.

Meanwhile, Fawad asked the court to either grant him judicial remand or provide him access to a doctor. He also denied having known the plaintiff.

"I am a former federal minister and a Supreme Court lawyer. [I] shouldn't be insulted. There is no bathroom where the remand is being sought," he said, pleading to the court.

The former minister requested the court to ensure a bathroom facility for him and sought permission to meet his children.