ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Saturday remanded Dania Shah, the widow of deceased televangelist-turned-politician Amir Liaquat Hussain, in judicial custody for two days for allegedly recording and uploading his “obscene videos” videos on social media.
Hussain, 50, was found unconscious at his Karachi home on June 9 and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His death came weeks after he announced he would leave Pakistan following a controversy surrounding his third marriage with Shah that led to intense criticism of the premier televangelist on mainstream and social media as well as surfacing of his sexually explicit videos online.
Pakistan's Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) arrested Shah on Thursday on a complaint lodged by Hussain's daughter in October, in which the complainant said her father went into depression after Shah uploaded his “obscene videos” and it ultimately led to his death.
On Saturday, the FIA presented Shah before a local court in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi and requested for her 14-day physical remand, but the court declined the request and instead granted two-day judicial remand of the accused.
"So far as request of interrogation and completion of investigation is concerned, IO (investigating officer) is allowed to investigate and interrogate the accused within jail premises from 17-12-22 to 19-12-22 after sunrise and before sunset in presence of officer of jail," the court order read.
"[The] jail superintendent is directed to make necessary arrangements in accordance with law."
Sexually explicit videos of Hussain went viral on social media as his relations with Shah deteriorated, with the televangelist blaming his wife for recording and leaking his private videos. Shah accused Hussain in various interviews of inflicting violence on her and regularly using drugs and alcohol during their brief relationship. Hussain denied the allegations.
Hussain, famous for combining religion and game shows, often courted controversy, most recently about his marriage to Shah, reportedly not of legal age, that ended within three months.
The televangelist repeatedly denied charges of beating his wife and consuming intoxicants, however, the story was widely discussed in Pakistan and raised questions about his credentials as a religious expert, leading a teary-eyed Hussain to announce in a video before his death that he had decided to leave Pakistan for good.
