Former GB CM Khalid Khurshid sent to jail

ISLAMABAD - An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday sent former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Khalid Khurshid to jail on a 14-day judicial remand after rejecting the police’s request for his physical custody.

Khurshid, who was arrested by federal police, was produced before ATC Judge Abul Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain. Police had sought a 30-day physical remand in a case registered against him at Islamabad’s Aabpara police station over a protest held on November 26. The court turned down the request and ordered his transfer to jail on judicial remand.

In December 2024, Khurshid was sentenced to 34 years in prison by an ATC for allegedly threatening security agencies. The case stemmed from a May 26, 2024, PTI public gathering, where he was accused of threatening Gilgit-Baltistan’s chief secretary, chief election commissioner and security agencies.

Khurshid served as Gilgit-Baltistan’s chief minister from 2020 until July 2023, when the GB Chief Court disqualified him over a fake degree submitted during the nomination process. The degree, purportedly issued by the University of London, was subsequently declared fake by the Higher Education Commission following an inquiry.

He joined PTI in 2018 and later became the party’s divisional president for Diamer-Astore. He has also been booked in multiple cases linked to PTI protests, including demonstrations at Islamabad’s D-Chowk in October.

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