LAHORE: The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) on Tuesday arrested Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MP Mian Javed Latif after a sessions court rejected his bail request in a case pertaining to inciting people against state institutions.
Latif had left the courtroom before the verdict was announced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Minhas who presided over the hearing.
The defense, Farhad Ali Shah, said the MP was arrested “before the verdict is announced” which “is a violation of the law”.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against Latif in March for defaming state institutions and delivering hateful remarks about them.
The case followed a television programme wherein the MP had said: “If anything happened to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, the PML-N will not chant Pakistan Khappay [Long live Pakistan]” — a veiled reference to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari who raised the slogan after his spouse and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007, a time when it was feared that separatists in Sindh could capture the anger at the incident.
The case against Latif was registered — and included sections 120, 120(B), 153, 153(A), 500, and 500(1)(B) — at the Township police station on the complaint of a Lahore resident, Jameel Saleem.
The complainant had claimed that the politician, by making the statements, “threatened” the country’s security, government, and state institutions. The lawmaker, he further said, sowed “seeds of hate” between the PPP and PML-N workers.
The complainant said the MP hurt the public sentiment to spread chaos in the country, thereby, violated the laws.
During the hearing, a prosecutor maintained that Latif’s statement was tantamount to overstepping the “bounds of [his] love for his leader [Maryam]”. “A CD of his statement has been sent to forensics [agency],” he added.
At this, Shah argued that the FIR registered against Latif was fake and baseless. “Latif belong to the PML-N and the opposition. Police have registered the case on the basis of malice,” he claimed.
He argued that the case was registered without listening to his [Latif’s] entire statement. “The police do not have the powers to register FIRs in such cases,” he said.
The prosecution counsel responded that the prosecution’s case was in accordance with the law.
“At this stage, there is no basis for granting bail,” he said, urging the court to dismiss Latif’s bail so that the case can move forward.
If he goes away after what he said about Pakistan then Rest in Peace Pakistan’s judiciary.
Set an example and punish him so hard that next time if anyone dares to speak against Pakistan then he/she does not think twice or thrice but a thousand times.
PLEASE! PUNISH PEOPLE TO SET SOME STANDARDS OF DISCIPLINE OTHERWISE, NOBODY WILL RESPECT THE LAW OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN.
This moron Javaid Latif should be severely punished.