Court Fumed After FIA Prosecutor Sought More Time In Azam Swati Case
ISLAMABAD: A court in Islamabad on Wednesday expressed its displeasure after FIA’s prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi sought more time to prepare his arguments in the Senator Azam Swati case involving his “controversial tweet” against the army chief.
When the special court’s judge resumed the case hearing and instructed the FIA prosecutor to present his arguments, Abbasi requested more time from the court. The judge refused to entertain the request and told the FIA prosecutor: “You are not a child who needs to be given time to prepare”.
Swati’s counselor Babar Awan said that “the FIR states the senator’s tweet was against Pakistan’s integrity”. He said: “Given that the tweet was made at 7 pm and the FIR was filed at 1 am, when and where did the investigation occur?” How can the FIA detain someone without conducting any investigation? Babar Awan asked.
Babar said that a notice must be issued under the law before an FIR can be filed. He claimed that, in this instance, the action was taken before the investigation. He asserted that “any statement made by a political figure cannot impact Pakistan’s armed forces.”
He told the court that the chief justice and the judiciary stated that a single tweet could not damage Pakistan’s institutions.
The judge told him that “You should concentrate on the non-bailable elements [in the FIR] and not on the bailable ones.” Awan said that the government was the same and that he may tomorrow choose another side.
The judge invited the FIA’s prosecutor to present his arguments once Awan completed his arguments. However, the FIA prosecutor sought more time to present his case. The judge refused Abbasi’s request for additional time and instructed him to be prepared on Thursday.
On Monday, the court sent Swati on judicial remand after the expiry of his ended physical remand.
The PTI leader was detained on October 13 from his residence in Islamabad by the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime Wing over his controversial tweet against Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Baja, accusing him of helping Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz in their acquittal in the alleged money-laundering case.
