BHC orders to quash all FIRs registered against Azam Swati in Balochistan
The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Friday ordered to quash all five first information reports (FIR) registered against PTI Senator Azam Swati for his controversial tweets against senior military officers.
A single member bench comprising of Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar heard the petition related to the termination of the cases filed against Swati in the Balochistan High Court.
Swati was not presented before the court today, but Advocate General Asif Reki, Senior Superintendent of Police (Investigation) Asad Nasir and Swati’s son, Osman, attended the hearing.
The court reprimanded the police for registering five cases and inquired whether the Inspector General (IG) was aware of the registration of these cases. At this, police responded that IG was not aware of the FIRs.
Justice Kakar observed that further extension in Swati’s remand was not required and asked, “On what basis was his first remand approved?”
“Why do police take steps because of which they and the court have to hide their faces?” Justice Kakar remarked.
Later, Justice Hashim Kakar directed the police to quash all FIRs registered against Azam Swati in the province and release him if he is not booked in any other case.
Earlier on December 6, the Balochistan High Court had ordered not to register any more cases against Azam Swati in the province.
It should be noted that on December 4, the Quetta’s local court handed over Senator Azam Swati, who was arrested in the case of the controversial tweet against top military brass, to the police on a 5-day physical remand.
On December 2, Senator Azam Swati was taken into custody by the Quetta Police from Islamabad and transferred to Balochistan, while a day before that, the District and Sessions Court of Islamabad had ordered to send him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Background:
On November 27, PTI Senator Azam Khan Swati was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for his controversial tweets against senior military officials.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the FIA on the complaint of the state through Islamabad Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (CCRC) Technical Assistant Aneesur Rehman.
The complaint was registered under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2016 (Peca) which deals with offences against dignity of a person as well as Sections 131 (abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier from his duty),500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (defamation and printing of content deemed defamatory), Section 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The FIR reads: “Swati and three other Twitter accounts with malafide intentions and ulterior motives, started a highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets […] against state institutions and senior government functionaries, including outgoing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa”
The FIR added that such “intimidating tweets of blaming and naming” were a “mischievous act of subversion to create a rift between personnel of armed forces to harm the state of Pakistan”.
