Rights group expresses concerns over 'torture' on Imran's close aide Shahbaz Gill, calls for investigation

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 19 (ANI): Expressing concerns over claims of torture inflicted on Shahbaz Gill, a close aide of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a rights group has called for an impartial investigation into the matter.
This comes as Gill was arrested on charges of colluding with a private TV news channel in carrying out anti-state propaganda. Imran Khan, while sharing a video on his social media handle, claimed that his close aid Shahbaz Gill who was arrested on sedition charges was tortured mentally and physically including being subjected to sexual abuse.
Taking to Twitter, Amnesty International South Asia, "Amnesty International is concerned about the allegations of torture being made by the lawyers of @SHABAZGIL, and calls for an immediate, effective and impartial inquiry investigating these claims."
Imran Khan on Friday announced rallies in support of close aide Shahbaz Gill, who he alleged was the victim of physical torture that included sexual abuse, media reports said.
"If a political worker [like Shahbaz Gill] can be subjected to such torture, it could happen to anyone," the PTI cheif told reporters outside Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), reported Dawn.
Officials on condition of anonymity said that PTI's legal counsel Faisal Chaudhry spoke to the police team who asked the party representative to seek permission from a court to meet Gill.
Gill, who was arrested in a sedition case, was presented in Islamabad court after being deemed "fit" by a medical board. Amid strict security arrangements, the police escorted Gill to court in a wheelchair.
In the early hours of Friday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill arrived in the Islamabad district and sessions court from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS).
An Islamabad court suspended physical remand of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill until Monday after reserving its verdict on a police plea for his eight-day physical remand in a case under sedition charges, ARY NEWS reported.
The Islamabad district and sessions court directed capital police to shift Gill to PIMS again for another medical examination.
Meanwhile, an earlier medical report by the PIMS Hospital declared that Shahbaz Gill is absolutely healthy however, the session judge Raja Farrukh Ali wondered if Gill was in a healthy condition then why he was brought in an ambulance.
Sources said doctors of the PIMS hospital released Gill's medical report late Thursday. The medical board issued the report after conducting ten different tests, including the coronavirus test. All his tests are clear, according to the report.
Besides, six different X-rays were also carried out. The report says the PTI leader is in good physical health and no signs of torture were found on his body. (ANI)