The Sindh government has approached the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Islamabad High Court to quash an FIR filed against former federal minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed. Ahmed had been booked for allegedly uttering 'sordid and vulgar' words against Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari before the media.
In its petition, filed through the Sindh Prosecutor General, the Sindh government noted that an FIR had been filed against Rasheed for uttering abusive words against Bilawal. Since the words uttered by Rasheed "caused emotional damage and also provoked party workers," an FIR was registered against him at the Mochko police station in Karachi under sections 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 500 (Punishment for defamation), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
However, the IHC quashed the FIR in June after deeming the allegations "do not attract any cognizable offence" and that the police did not have jurisdiction to register such an FIR.
In their petition, the Sindh government contended that the Supreme Court must review whether the High Court has totally overlooked the actions of Rasheed, which provoked party workers beyond the territorial limits of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and whether he should be punished or not.
The high court committed a serious mistake by quashing the FIR and erred in law by allowing Rasheed's petition. The petition further contended that the judge had not decided the matter while applying "judicial mind."
The Sindh government attempted to impress upon the top court that Bilawal was the head of the PPP, a major political party in Pakistan with a large following, as well as the former foreign minister and that his followers were enraged and provoked by the derogatory remarks of Rasheed and that it could spark a "brawl on a huge level in all over the country". Hence, the quashment of FIR was not legally correct or justified.
The Sindh government further urged the court to investigate the matter fairly.
The issue arose after Rasheed was arrested on February 1, 2023, in Islamabad. While in the custody of the Islamabad Police at the Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad, he allegedly uttered some unethical and vulgar words against Bilawal. The next day, an FIR against Rasheed was registered in Karachi on the complaint of a PPP worker, Khuda Bakhsh.
Later, Rasheed approached the IHC to quash the FIR. The IHC finally heard Rasheed's petition on April 24, 2024. On June 25, 2024, the court granted Rasheed's plea and quashed the FIR.