ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government denied on Saturday allegations that police had tortured former prime minister Imran Khan’s aide Dr. Shahbaz Gill.
Khan had alleged that Gill had been tortured physically and mentally, after videos of him screaming as he arrived in a wheelchair to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) went viral on social media on Friday.
As Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced it would hold a protest rally in Islamabad on Saturday evening, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb rejected claims of Gill’s abuse.
“No one was tortured here. In this instance, propaganda was done,” she said during a press conference.
“A case has been registered against Gill according to the law and investigation is underway.”
She played a video of Gill — which she said was recorded earlier on Saturday — showing him examining a medical report as he spoke to police officers, and said it was proof that Gill was fine and had not been tortured in police custody.
Gill was arrested last week, a day after he made controversial comments in a talk show aired by a private news channel, ARY NEWS, asking army officers not to follow orders of their top command if they were “against the sentiments of the masses.”
The country’s national media regulator said the statement was “seditious” and said it was tantamount of inciting revolt within the military. The regulator also issued a show-cause notice to the channel, ARY News, for airing the “illegal” content. The channel has since been off air.
