Pakistan: PTI Senator Azam Swati moves Islamabad Court for bail in case over controversial tweets
Dec 24, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], December 25 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati has filed a petition in Islamabad High Court (IHC) for bail in case of controversial tweets against the armed forces, The Express Tribune reported.
In the petition, Azam Swati has requested the court to grant bail till the trial is completed.
Azam Swati filed the petition through the mediation of Babar Awan. He filed the petition after a special court in Islamabad rejected his bail application on the grounds that the senator had committed the same offence twice.
Special Judge Central Muhammad Azam Khan heard the bail petition filed by Azam Swati. The bail application was challenged by Prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi, according to The Express Tribune. During the hearing, Rizwan Abbasi shared details regarding the account verification procedure on Twitter.
Abbasi stressed that there was a "blue tick" on Swati's account, which implies that the account belonged to the PTI senator, as per The Express Tribune report. Abbasi said that Swati tried to create a narrative against the Pakistan army.
Swati's lawyer Sohail Khan said that the case against his client was initiated on the basis of screenshots of his tweets. In the court, Khan said that cases of cybercrime cannot be made on the basis of screenshots. Multiple cases have been filed against Azam Swati across Pakistan for his controversial tweets against senior military officers.
The Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) initially arrested the senator on October 14 after he posted a 'threatening message' against Pakistan's army chief, judiciary and other state institutions, on his official Twitter account, The News International reported.
Azam Swati was granted bail in the case, as per the news report. However, FIA on November 27 again arrested Swati for using abusive language against top military officials, including the former army chief. On December 2, Swati was arrested by Balochistan police in a similar case in Quetta.
At the time of his arrest, Azam Swati was already on judicial remand in Adiala Jail. He was moved to Quetta under a transit remand acquired by the Balochistan police. Later, Balochistan High Court (BHC) ordered the quashing of all cases registered against the senator in the case, according to The News International report.
After the issuance of an order by the Balochistan High Court, the Sindh Police took the senator into its custody. Azam Swati then filed a case in the Sindh High Court and the court directed the quashing of all cases against the senator in the province. After the orders, he was taken into custody by Islamabad police.
