ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that Senator Azam Swati was picked up from the hospital by the Quetta Police despite “severe chest pain and difficulty in breathing” and “his life was in danger”. Put” moved to an unknown location.
Balochistan Police on Friday arrested PTI Senator Azam Swati for posting controversial tweets against senior army officers, JEE News reported citing sources.
The ousted prime minister on Friday condemned the “shocking” behavior of the PTI leader on Twitter.
Equally outrageous is what is being considered such a great crime would in entire civilised world be considered his democratic right to criticise. He must be released immediately. Sad to see our justice system unwilling to stop repeated violations of Swati's basic human rights.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 2, 2022
Terming the Quetta Police Act as “a great crime”, Imran also said that it is “sad to see that our justice system is not ready to stop the repeated violations of Swati’s basic human rights”.
On the condition of anonymity, the officials said that this arrest has been made in various cases registered against the senator across Balochistan.
The PTI leader was arrested again on Sunday morning from his farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad for speaking against senior army officers.
Federal Investigation Agency’s cyber crime wing arrested Azam Swati for using abusive language against the former army chief and other senior military officers.
The case against the senator has been registered on the complaint of FIA technical assistant Anisur Rehman. The case has been registered under the Defamation and Electronic Crimes Act.
The senator has been arrested under sections 500, 501, 505 and 109. He was also arrested last month under the same provisions.
Several FIRs have been registered within 24 hours on PTI leader Swati’s controversial tweets in various police stations of Karachi, Quetta, Jacobabad Qamber, Lasbela, Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Kundhkot and other cities.
IHC reserved judgment on Swati’s plea seeking details of cases.
News of the arrest came as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its verdict on the senator’s plea seeking details of cases registered against him across the country.
At the start of the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq said that details of cases filed across the country are being sought from the Ministry of Interior, but wondered if it could be done under the existing laws of the country.
Additional Attorney General (AAG) Manoor Iqbal Dogal replied, “There is no law that allows taking such details from the provinces.”
Justice Farooq asked him whether the Ministry of Interior has any control over the provincial ministries.
“The police is under the control of the provinces after the 18th amendment,” the AAG replied as he reiterated that the federal government had no power to direct provincial inspector generals of police.
However, the government lawyer replied that reports of the cases filed across the country have been sought from the provinces on court orders.
How are multiple cases filed on one incident? FIA has also been made a defendant, they are under your jurisdiction, you can give details of the cases registered by FIA against Azam Swati, the judge told the lawyer.
To this, AAG Dougal replied that he can provide details related to FIA but cannot take information about how many cases are registered against Swati in the provinces.
On this, Azam Swati’s lawyer Babar Awan said that all fundamental rights are policy matters and the Center can get this information from the provinces.
If that were the case, he would neither be able to write a letter nor hold a press conference. How can the federal government say they are powerless beyond Faizabad or Attock, Awan said.
The lawyer warned the court that his client may be taken away from Islamabad and transferred elsewhere.
Azam Swati is a heart patient. Azam Swati is only asking about the number of FIRs,” Awan told the court. He added that he was seeking details so that his clients could appear for the cases.
The AAG responded by saying that the petition has included the provincial IGs as respondents but the Home Ministry is not mentioned in it.
However, the Chief Justice of the IHC intervened and remarked that the court cannot issue directions to a province or its home ministry.
After the remarks, the court reserved the decision of the case.
