Swati narrates torture unleashed on him during custody

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Muhammad Azam Swati Tuesday claimed he was taken to an unidentified place and thrashed and attacked his honour.

He urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to investigate the incident of alleged attack on his honour, as he narrated details of ‘torture unleashed on him during custody’. Swati told a news conference that he would not have cared had the torturers taken his life, but his honour was attacked, the Chief Justice should investigate this incident to save the citizens from such abuse in the future.

He expressed gratitude to the chief justice for taking up the case. The PTI legislator and ex-minister was arrested in a case filed earlier last month for writing controversial a tweet. He has been alleging that he was stripped naked and tortured.

During the news conference, Swati also named an FIA officer, who he said should be summoned for questioning. While waving a copy of the Constitution of Pakistan in his hand, he claimed that the laws contained in this book do not apply to 1,000 or a few hundred people.

Swati named two very senior military officials to allege this does not apply to them, who are above the law. Then he made an appeal to Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to summon Ayaz, Assistant Director of the Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to the GHQ. “This is a humble request from a citizen and a sitting Senator,” he remarked.

Swati said that after being detained, they kept beating him and made his videos all the way, adding that there should be an investigation as to who was the person who was making fun of him when he was stripped naked.

He also appealed to the Chief Justice and other judges of the country to provide justice to him and prevent such extra-judicial treatment from happening again, saying his only crime was to tweet about a powerful person. He was hopeful that the Supreme Court would ensure justice in the case.