No more FIRs against Azam Swati, rules SHC
The Sindh High Court (BHC) barred the police on Monday from registering any more first information reports (FIRs) against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator and former federal minister Azam Swati over his controversial tweets and speeches.
A 2-member bench headed by Justice Karim Agha heard the petition filed against the detention of PTI Senator.
During the hearing, the court directed to provide the details of the cases against Azam Swati.
At the outset of the hearing, Prosecutor General Sindh told court to give time for the details of cases against Swati.
At this, the court directed to provide the details of the cases against Azam Swati by tomorrow.
The court further directed the Inspector General (IG) Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon to summon all the SSPs wherever the cases have been registered.
“If the explanation of all the cases is not submitted then action will be taken against you,” Justice Agha said.
The court remarked that what will ordinary citizens do if the police raised their hands.
At this, IG Sindh replied: “Believe us we are working, you are saying you don’t have faith in IG Sindh, it is quite painful for me.”
The court responded if IG Sindh was not interested then he should resign.
“Why should I resign? We respect the court and the court should respect us,” IG Sindh said.
Ghulam Nabi Memon added that: “I am the head of the Sindh province, I am not an SHO, I am an IG.”
The court sought details of the cases against Azam Swati and barred police from registering further cases against the PTI leader and adjourned the hearing till December 14.
Earlier, The Balochistan High Court (BHC) ordered to quash all five first information reports (FIR) registered against PTI Senator Azam Swati for his controversial tweets against senior military officers.
On December 6, the BHC 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 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”.
