Quetta: A Quetta court on Sunday handed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Khan Swati to the police on five-day physical remand in a case filed against senior military officers for tweeting.
The PTI leader is facing defamation charges for using offensive language against army officers in his tweets. Initially, the senator was arrested by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA).
But on December 2, Balochistan police arrested Swati in Quetta in a similar case.
At the time of his arrest, he was already on judicial remand in Adiala Jail, after being detained for the second time in a controversial tweets case on November 27. Then he was transferred to Quetta under transit remand obtained by Balochistan Police.
Today’s hearing
Swati was produced before Judicial Magistrate Abdul Sattar on Sunday morning amid tight security.
The police had requested a 10-day physical remand, but the court granted it for only 5 days.
ڈسٹرکٹ کوٹ کوئٹہ میں اعظم سواتی کورٹ میں پیش، سابق ڈپٹی سپیکر قومی اسمبلی و صوبائی صدرپی ٹی ائی بلوچستان قاسم خان سوری بھی اعظم سواتی کے ہمراہ موجود۔
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 4, 2022
#ReleaseAzamSwati pic.twitter.com/WFfOtoYUkt
Later, PTI Balochistan President and former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri confirmed that Azam Swati has been sent to police custody on five-day physical remand.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Suri condemned the police action against the “elderly leader in extreme cold”.
“Is Azam Swati a foreign spy? What has he done? I think it is not good to use Balochistan for such activities,” he said.
Suri further claimed that there is no worse precedent for restricting freedom of expression.
He said that the case of attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan alone is not being registered, the rest of the party leadership is facing cases.
Controversial tweets cases
Swati is facing multiple cases across the country – as her lawyer told a hearing in an Islamabad court – for her controversial tweets.
He was first arrested in a controversial tweets case on October 14, when he posted highly hateful and threatening messages against the army chief, judiciary and other state institutions on his official Twitter account.
Senator got bail in this case.
But on November 27, the FIA once again arrested Swati for using abusive language against senior army officers, including the former army chief.
The PTI has been condemning her arrest and “torture” in custody, while Swati also approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) fearing “custodial murder”.
Former Prime Minister Khan had condemned his latest arrest by the Balochistan Police. They claimed that despite “severe chest pain and difficulty in breathing”, Swati was taken from the Quetta police hospital and taken to an undisclosed location “risking her life”.
