Sharif yet to be arrested: police

ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (PTI) — Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is yet to be formally arrested on charges of treason and kidnapping, the police told an anti-terrorist court in Karachi which remanded four of his co-accused to three days' police custody today.

In the first official statement on the present status of Mr Sharif, the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case told anti-terrorist court judge Rehmat Hussain Jafri that the deposed Premier was yet to be formally arrested by the police, official APP news agency said.

The IO gave no details about when the authorities planned to produce Mr Sharif in the court, it said.

While earlier media reports quoting official sources had claimed that Mr Sharif had been flown to Karachi and handed over to the police to stand trial, Special Public Prosecutor Feroz Mahmood Bhatti said Mr Sharif had not been arrested and was still in preventive custody of the army near Islamabad.

"He is likely to be arrested within a day or two," Mr Bhatti informed the special anti-terrorist court as Mr Sharif’s four co-accused, who appeared shaken, were committed to police remand till November 18.

Even though all co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges, the anti-terrorist court accepted the request of the prosecutor for enhanced police remand. Prosecutor Bhatti sought police remand to carry our further investigations saying that the case was of sensitive nature and pertained to conspiracy against the state.

Former Advocate-General of Sindh Iqbal Raad, who appeared jointly for all four accused, opposed their continued detention, saying that the prosecution did not have even an iota of evidence even after keeping them in illegal custody for more than a month.

All four accused sought permission to meet their families and defence counsel, on which the judge was yet to rule.

The IO informed the court that 10 other witnesses are to be examined in the case.