LAHORE: The Cantt Lahore's magisterial court on Wednesday approved Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry's transitory remand to the Islamabad police hours after the capital's Kohsar police arrested him from the provincial capital.

A first information report (FIR) was registered in the Kohsar police station against Fawad on the complaint of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Umar Hameed for "inciting violence against a constitutional institution". The FIR was registered under sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

As per reports, Fawad's transit remand was taken from Lahore and he will be transferred to Islamabad today. Judicial magistrate Mudasar Hayat directed the concerned quarters to produce the former minister before the concerned court in the federal capital today.

Moreover, the court also ordered a medical examination of the PTI leader from the Services Hospital Lahore. As the hearing commenced, the PTI leader requested Lahore's magisterial court to hand him over a copy of the FIR registered against him. 

Following the receipt of the copy, Fawad told the court that he is a former federal minister and lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC), adding that the “conduct used during his arrest was not appropriate”.

The PTI leader requested the court to pass a direction to the police to treat him in a respectful manner and to pass an order for his medical examination. In his argument, Fawad's lawyers expressed their displeasure over producing the former minister in handcuffs. They said a resolution has been passed in this regard that lawyers will not be handcuffed.

They also informed the court that a petition relating to Fawad’s habeas corpus is pending in the Lahore High Court (LHC), therefore, the decision of transit remand be halted till the decision of the aforementioned petition is announced.

Talking to the media following the arrest, Fawad said that "he is proud" of being nominated in the FIR following which his arrest was made. He maintained that those who arrested him will "soon be ashamed". Taking a jibe at the heavy deployment of security officials around the court, he said “it seems James Bond is being produced before the court”.

The PTI leader's brother Faraz Chaudhry was reportedly arrested from Jhelum, Rawalpindi, for protesting against the former minister's arrest.

According to reports, Jhelum police has shifted Faraz to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) building.

The arrest comes just hours after the former minister, in a press conference in Lahore, had warned the members of the ECP along with their families and others of vindictive measures if “those involved in the May 25 incident – police crackdown to stop PTI expedition to Islamabad – were appointed or remain appointed”. “We have formally lodged a complaint before the Election Commission that those directly involved in the May 25 crackdown against the PTI protest should not be appointed in Punjab,” he had stated.

According to the text of the FIR, during a speech on Tuesday Fawad had said that the status of the ECP is the same as a “secretary”, adding that the “chief election commissioner signs documents like a clerk”.