IHC fixes date to hear Swati’s post-arrest bail plea

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court Saturday fixed the date for the hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Senator Azam Swati’s bail petition in the controversial tweets case.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq will hear the petition on December 26 (Monday), according to the cause list.

The senator is booked in multiple cases for his controversial tweets against top military officials including the former army chief General (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Earlier today, Swati filed a post-arrest bail plea in the IHC in relation to the controversial tweets case filed against him. His earlier plea, filed on December 21, was dismissed by trial court judge Azam Khan who said that the senator had committed the same offence twice.

The septuagenarian’s counsel Babar Awan filed the bail plea on his behalf.

In his application, the senator stated that he did not post derogatory remarks against any institutions. He added that the prosecution has no proof against him despite the investigation. The application read that Swati is 75 years old and a heart patient; jailing him would be a sentence without conviction as all evidence against him is documentary.

Swati has been booked in multiple cases across the country for his controversial tweets against senior military officers.

Initially, the senator was arrested by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) on October 14 after he posted a highly-hateful and threatening message against the army chief, judiciary, and other state institutions on his official Twitter account. He had secured bail in that case, but on November 27, the FIA arrested him again for using abusive language against the top military brass, including the former army chief.

On December 2, Balochistan police arrested Swati for a similar case registered against him in Quetta. At the time of his arrest, he was already on judicial remand in Adiala Jail and was shifted 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 province. Once BHC issued the order, the Sindh Police took the senator into custody over the issue of controversial tweets.