ISLAMABAD
\nA district and sessions court in Islamabad granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a one-day extension in the physical remand of PTI leader Senator Azam Swati on Sunday in a case related to a tweet against state institutions, including the army chief.
\nDuty Magistrate Shoaib Akhtar directed officials to present Swati in court tomorrow.
\nDuring the hearing, the prosecutor read out Swati\u2019s tweet in which he had sarcastically congratulated \u201cMr Bajwa\u201d and a few others, saying \u201cyour plan is really working and all criminals are getting free at cost of this country\u201d and alleging corruption had been \u201clegitimised\u201d.
\nWhile requesting the court to grant a 14-day remand, Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi said it was necessary to recover the senator\u2019s mobile phone. \u201cThe suspect is a political person who has hundreds of thousands of followers. He named the head of the armed forces in a tweet from his verified account.
\n\u201cThe investigation officer needs more time,\u201d he informed the court.
\nOn the other hand, Swati\u2019s counsel Babar Awan requested the court to not grant the FIA physical custody of his client. \u201cMy client is being brought to court for the third time,\u201d he added.
\nAwan said the law laid out the process for launching an investigation, adding that his client\u2019s house had been \u201craided without a warrant\u201d. A warrant issued by a magistrate was required before such a raid, which was not shown, he argued.
\n\u201cThey (FIA) are saying the army was defamed \u2026 They should keep an eye on Swat instead of Swati,\u201d he said, referring to a resurgence of terrorism in the valley.
\nAwan also showed the court pictures of the raid he claimed was carried out without a warrant on the PTI senator\u2019s house. However, the prosecutor argued that the pictures were taken at the time of Swati\u2019s arrest, which was done after obtaining a warrant.
\n\u201cWho tortured Swati should be revealed. If someone wants to do politics, he should retire and then do it,\u201d Awan said.
\nSubsequently, the magistrate extended Swati\u2019s physical remand for another day.
\nSeparately, while speaking to the media outside the court, the PTI senator alleged that he had been \u201chanded over to other institutions\u201d after the first information report (FIR) was registered against him, adding that those \u201cinstitutions\u201d had tortured him.
\n\u201cI will reveal them in a constitutional manner\u2026. Rana Sanaullah and DG FIA Mohsin Butt have wronged me.\u201d
\nSwati said he was questioned why he supported PTI Senator Saiful\u00aclah Khan Nyazee, who was taken into \u201cprotective custody\u201d by the FIA earlier this month. \u201cSenator Saifullah Nyazee is Imran Khan\u2019s right arm and a noble man,\u201d he added.
\nSwati vowed to \u201cbring the DG FIA to book\u201d and lodge a case against the cybercrime wing chief and his team.
\nIn response to a question about whether he remained firm on his tweet, the senator replied, \u201cI will do anything for haqeeqi azaadi (true freedom). I will sacrifice anything.\u201d
\nA day earlier, the former minister was taken to the PIMS Hospital for a medical examination after which he was presented before the court amid tight security. The court then granted the FIA a one-day extension in Swati\u2019s physical remand.
\nOn Thursday, the court had remanded the PTI leader into FIA custody for two days after Swati named Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in his tweet denouncing the acquittals of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son in a multi-billion-rupee money laundering case, registered against them during the PTI rule.
\nTalking to reporters after his arrest, Swati had alleged that he was not arrested for breaking the law, violating the Constitution or fundamental rights. He said he was arrested for \u201ctaking one name of Bajwa and that is the violation\u201d.
\nHe had also accused the \u201cagencies\u201d of custodial torture, saying that a \u201cparliamentarian has been stripped\u201d, after which the court had instructed FIA to get a medical examination of the PTI leader conducted. Swati\u2019s claims had triggered criticism and condemnations from PTI and other segments of society against his alleged torture.
\nThe FIR registered at the FIA\u2019s Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad, mentions that Swati tweeted with \u201cmalafide intentions & ulterior motives\u201d against \u201cState Institutes of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its Senior Government Functionaries including Chief of The Army Staff of Pakistan Army\u201d.
\nThe FIR adds that such \u201cintimidating tweet\/s of blaming and naming through Twitter account i.e., @AzamKhanSwatiPK, is a mischievous act of subversion to create a rift between personnel\/s of The Armed Forces and an attempt to harm the State of Pakistan\u201d.
\nThrough the aforementioned tweet, the criminal complaint says, the accused \u201cundermined the Judicial System of the country and also attempted to seduce Army Personnel\/s from their allegiance to their duties as subordinates.
\n\u201cThis is calculated attempt to create hatred in the mind of people and Army Personnel\/s against COAS and Pakistan Army and also created distrust towards Judicial System. In such intimidating Tweet\/s, the accused Muhammad Azam Khan Swati has attempted to provoke general public and Personnel\/s of Armed Forces by trying to create a feeling of ill-will among pillars of the State.\u201d
\nIt alleges Swati violated the privacy and intimidated the state institutions, by using false information, \u201cwhich is likely to incite, any officer, soldier, sailor, or Airman in the Army, Navy or Air Force of Pakistan to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such and is also likely to cause fear or alarm in the public and may induce \/ incite anyone to commit an offence against the State or the State Institution\/s or public tranquillity\u201d.
\nThe case was made out against the PTI leader under section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act-2016 read with 131 (abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier from his duty), 500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 109 (punishment of abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD A district and sessions court in Islamabad granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a one-day extension in the physical remand of PTI leader Senator Azam Swati on Sunday in a case related to a tweet against state institutions, including the army chief. Duty Magistrate Shoaib Akhtar directed officials to present Swati in court tomorrow. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-289654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n