Politics

IHC grants bail to Senator Azam Swati in controversial tweets case

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Azam Swati’s bail has been approved against bonds of Rs200,000.
IHC had earlier reserved its verdict in the case.
Swati had filed plea seeking release on bail in IHC.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday approved the bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati in the controversial tweets case.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq announced the verdict reserved earlier today, granting bail to the PTI leader in the case filed against him in November 2022.

The senator’s bail has been approved against surety bonds of Rs200,000.

Swati has been behind bars since November 27, when he was arrested for the second time for using abusive language against the top military brass, including former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. The septuagenarian hurled swear words at Bajwa.

Swati had filed a plea seeking release on bail in IHC in relation to the case filed against him on November 26. His earlier plea, filed on December 21, was dismissed by trial court judge Azam Khan, who said that the senator had committed the same offence twice.

In his application, the senator stated that he did not post derogatory remarks against any institutions. He added that the prosecution has no proof against him despite an investigation.

The application read that Swati is 75 years old and a heart patient and that jailing him would be a sentence without conviction as all evidence against him is documentary.

Today’s hearing

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq conducted the hearing of the case without the presence of the special prosecutor. Swati’s lawyer Babar Awan appeared in court on behalf of his client.

Awan said that Swati’s son wants to put his viewpoint before the court.

“My father had written a letter, I want to read it with the court’s permission,” said Swati’s son.

At this, Justice Farooq said that the letter is present before the court.

The court said that a larger bench would be constituted to settle this matter once and for all.

Swati’s lawyer said that the court should look into this matter today, to which the court said a larger bench cannot be formed today.

Meanwhile, Swati’s son withdrew his letter of no-confidence against the IHC chief justice.

The court then inquired about the position of the challan, to which, the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) replied that the challan was submitted on December 24, 2022, and the hearing will take place on January 3.

The deputy attorney general said that the PTI senator has committed the crime again and a case has already been pending.

The FIA said that Swati did not surrender his Twitter account. At this, the court said that the investigating agency itself ended the physical remand.

“Is there a chance of tampering?” the court questioned the FIA officials.

To this, the FIA said that Swati did not deny the tweet.

The court then reserved its verdict in the case.

The cases

Swati is booked in multiple cases across the country for his controversial tweets against senior military officers.

Initially, the senator was arrested by the FIA on October 13 after he posted a hateful and threatening message against the then-army chief, judiciary, and other state institutions on his official Twitter account.

He had secured bail in that case, but on November 27, the FIA arrested him again for using abusive language against the top military brass, including Gen (retd) Bajwa.

On December 2, Balochistan police arrested Swati in a similar case registered against him in Quetta. At the time of his arrest, he was already on judicial remand in Adiala Jail and was shifted to Quetta under a transit remand acquired by the Balochistan police.

Later, the Balochistan High Court (BHC) ordered the quashing of all cases registered against the senator in the province. Once BHC issued the order, the Sindh Police took the senator into custody over the issue of controversial tweets.

The senator then approached the Sindh High Court for bail. The court also directed the quashing of all cases registered against the senator in the province.

Following the orders, Islamabad Police took the senator into its custody and brought him to the federal capital. He is still in custody.

Latest News

The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

Published

3 hours ago

Farwa

A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

Latest News

The PML-N Punjab chapter convenes today to discuss organizational issues.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Former prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, has called a meeting of the PML-N Punjab chapter for today (Friday).

The conference was called by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, who reportedly gave the president of the party’s Punjab chapter, Rana Sanaullah, a call to call a meeting of the party’s provincial officials.

Nawaz Sharif is now visiting China.

According to sources, Nawaz Sharif’s leadership role and organizational issues inside the PML-N Punjab would be discussed at the meeting. The meeting’s agenda may also include discussions about the possible growth of the federal and Punjabi cabinets.

According to other sources, Nawaz Sharif gave Rana Sanaullah instructions to gather information on political and organizational positions in Punjab as well as to revitalize the party at the local level.

Latest News

Saad Rafiq: Ali Amin Gandapur’s threat to storm Islamabad is a major issue.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has threatened to storm Islamabad, according to Khawaja Saad Rafique, a former minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). This is a very serious situation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration has reportedly launched attacks on the federal capital in the past in an attempt to seize Islamabad, according to Saad Rafiq on the social media platform X (previously Twitter).

“However, PTI got nothing and it resulted in creating chaos, hatred and economic destruction,” he continued.

He added, “If the anarchists attack Islamabad to occupy it this time too, it will become impossible for them to return as rulers.”

According to the leader of the PML-N, fascist behavior will no longer be accepted, and the dirty politics of violence, fire, and ransacking will no longer be effective.

The PTI, he said, has to act rationally and refrain from inciting another May 9.