Azam Swati shifted to Islamabad, Sindh prosecutor general tells SHC

Sindh Prosecutor General Faiz H Shah informed the province’s high court on Thursday that PTI Senator Azam Swati, who has been in detention since Nov 27 over his controversial tweets about senior military officials, had been shifted to Islamabad.

Swati was initially booked by the Federal Investigation Agency in Islamabad over a “highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets […] against state institutions” and subsequently arrested by the agency.

Later, multiple first information reports (FIRs) were registered against him in Sindh and Balochistan for using “derogatory language” and “provoking the people against the army”.

He was handed over to Balochistan police on Dec 2 and eventually to Sindh police a week later.

Earlier this week, the Sindh High Court (SHC) restrained police from arresting Swati in cases registered against him within the limits of SHC’s Hyderabad registry — which includes Mithi, Nawabshah, and Hyderabad — and Karachi.

The directives were issued on a plea filed by the senator’s son, Usman Swati, who sought the quashing of charges against the senior Swati over his tweets about military officials.

A two-member SHC bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan, took up the plea today.

The prosecutor general informed the bench at today’s hearing that Swati had been transferred to Islamabad and all cases registered against him in Sindh were being disposed of as C-Class, which means disposal of the case for being non-cognisable.

“Consequently, all FIRs will now become ineffective,” he said.

The prosecutor general further stated that the cases were registered on private persons’ complaints and authorities were bound by the law to record their statements.

In its short order on the plea, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the court observed that numerous FIRs were registered against Swati in Sindh when a similar FIR was already pending in Islamabad.

“Lodging of more than one FIRs in respect of the same incident has been prohibited by the Honourable Supreme Court,” the court order said, adding that the Sindh prosecutor general and inspector general of police (IG) were subsequently directed to “go through all the FIRs and see if they were materially different from the FIR already lodged in Islamabad.

“After going through the FIRs lodged at Islamabad and in this province, the learned Sindh prosecutor general and inspector general of police have come to the conclusion that they are similar.”

The court order said Sindh IG Ghulam Nabi Memon had then assured that all FIRs registered against Swati in Sindh over similar offences would be disposed of as C-Class.

“He shall ensure that he does the same within three days of this order,” the court directed.

The order quoted the petitioner’s counsel as saying that he was satisfied with this development.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Anwar Mansoor, remarked, “The Sindh IG has done a good job.”

Justice Agha also credited the Sindh IG and provincial government for “resolving the matter”.

Concluding the hearing, the court said there should be no more cases against Swati in Sindh.

At that, the prosecutor general assured the court that “these matters will be looked into according to the law”.

PTI appeals to CJP

After the hearing, PTI leaders Imran Ismail while speaking to the media asked “what crime is Azam Swati being punished for?”

He reiterated the senator and PTI’s allegation that Swati had been subjected to custodial torture.

“Stripping a senator naked and torturing him is condemnable.”

He also protested the registration of multiple FIRs against Swati. “[Usually], a single FIR is registered against a person but 40 cases have been lodged against Azam Swati.”

Ismail called on the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) for justice, saying: “Where will we go if courts won’t deliver justice?”

The PTI leader went on to say that “no FIRs can be registered against the powerful in this country.

“There was an attack on Imran Khan and he couldn’t get an FIR registered. Similarly, [journalist] Arshad Sharif’s mother was also unable to get an FIR registered over her son’s murder.”

He said the PTI was standing with Swati and again appealed to the CJP to look into the matter.

He concluded his media talk saying, “It is now to be seen whether [the outcome] will be based on justice or the will of the powerful.”

Alongside him, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh expressed the hope that justice would be delivered in this case.

Arrests over tweets

Swati was first arrested by the FIA on charges of posting controversial tweets about the armed forces in October and was later released on bail.

The senator has alleged since that he was tortured in custody and demanded the removal of two military officials, one of whom he used foul language against in his tweet on November 26.

On November 27, the FIA arrested Swati for the second time over a “highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets […] against state institutions”.

The arrest came after an FIR was registered by the FIA on the complaint of the state through Islamabad Cyber Crime Reporting Centre Technical Assistant Aneesur Rehman.

The complaint was registered under Section 20 of Peca 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 PPC.

Following his arrest in November, the Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority prohibited Azam’s media coverage on all satellite TV channels.

Separate FIRs were also registered against the PTI leader in Balochistan and Sindh as well.

On December 2, Swati was brought to Quetta from Islamabad in one such case registered at the Kuchlak police station, after the end of his initial 14-day remand.

But on December 9, the Balochistan High Court ordered the quashing of all five cases initially registered against him in the province.

Hours after the order was issued, the PTI senator was handed over to Sindh police while his lawyer said two new cases were registered against Swati in Balochistan.

The cases were registered under Sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc), 124A (sedition), and 123A (condemnation of the creation of the State, and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty) of the PPC.

Earlier this week, the SHC restrained police from arresting Swati in cases registered against him within the limits of SHC’s Hyderabad registry and Karachi.

The Capital Development Authority has also sealed Swati’s farmhouse, located on Islamabad’s Murree Road over alleged violation of building laws.