ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad extended for another four days the physical remand of Azam Khan Swati, a senator of opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) arrested on Sunday for a second time in less than two months on charges of sending out tweets critical of the outgoing army chief.
He had been arrested in October as well for using “obnoxious and intimidating” language to criticise Gen. Qamer Javed Bajwa, state institutions and other government officials. At a court appearance at the time, he alleged he was stripped and tortured by officials from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.
Swati was charged with libel and appeared before a judge later on Sunday who allowed the agency to interrogate the senator until Tuesday. Reportedly, he is being held at a facility in Islamabad.
During the proceedings, a counsel for FIA requested the judge, Muhammad Bashir, to extend Swati’s remand for six more days as a further investigation was required into his mobile and Twitter account.
However, the judge turned down the request and instead extended the period for four days. The hearing was later adjourned.
Swati was not present for the hearing. Babar Awan, his counsel, contended the senator faced life threats and should, therefore, be exempted from appearance. Accepting the request, the judge directed the agency to present the parliamentarian in court via video link for the next hearing.
