Sedition charges
Islamabad police asks judicial magistrate for 8-day physical remand of the PTI leader
News Desk
Islamabad
A district and sessions court in the federal capital on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on charges of sedition for “inciting violence against a constitutional institution”.
The PTI leader was arrested in the wee hours of the day from his residence in Lahore. A magisterial court in Lahore Cantt later approved Fawad’s transitory remand to the Islamabad police.
A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Kohsar police station against Fawad on the complaint of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Umar Hameed, registered under sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Police later presented him before judicial magistrate Naveed Khan at the district and sessions court in Islamabad’s F-8 area on Wednesday evening, where they asked for an eight day physical remand of the PTI leader.
According to the text of the FIR, during a speech on Tuesday Fawad had said that the status of the ECP is the same as a “secretary”, adding that the “chief election commissioner signs documents like a clerk”.
During the press talk, while strongly criticising the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister the PTI leader had also said that “those who are being appointed as the caretaker of [Punjab] government will be followed until they are punished”.
According to Islamabad police, Fawad tried to ignite violence against the state institutions and aroused the sentiments of the people.
‘No basis for any case against me’
During proceedings before judicial magistrate Naveed Khan at the district and sessions court in Islamabad’s F-8 area, Fawad said that there was no basis for any case against him.
“1,500 policemen are standing outside [the court] and I was handcuffed despite being a lawyer in the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that he had been a federal minister in the past well.
