Azam Khan Swati, a senator for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was given to police on Sunday by a local court in Quetta for a five-day physical detention in relation to a contentious tweet case.
The PTI leader is being sued for libel after he used derogatory language in his tweets toward military officials.
On Sunday morning, he was brought before Judicial Magistrate Abdul Sattar while being closely watched. The police asked for a 10-day physical remand during the hearing, but the judge only allowed for five days.
Later, Swati was given to the police for a five-day physical remand, according to PTI Balochistan President and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri.
After the hearing, Suri spoke to the media and denounced the police conduct against the “elderly leader in really cold weather.”
“Is Azam Swati a foreign agent? What has he done? I believe it is improper to engage the Balochistan police in such actions “He stated.
Suri continued by saying that there is “no greater example” of a limitation on the right to free expression than this.
He claimed that only the attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan was not reported to the police, despite the fact that cases were pending against the other members of the party’s executive committee.
According to Swati’s counsel at a hearing in an Islamabad court, he has been charged in several cases around the nation as a result of his divisive tweets.
The senator was initially detained by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) on October 14 for making threats against the army leader, the judiciary, and other state institutions on his official Twitter account.
In that case, the senator had obtained bail. But on November 27, the FIA detained Swati once more for abusing senior military officials, including the former army leader.
For a comparable complaint brought against him in Quetta, the Balochistan police detained Swati on December 2.
After being detained a second time in a contentious Twitter case on November 27, he was already in Adiala Jail on judicial remand at the time of his arrest. The Balochistan police then transported him to Quetta on a transit remand.
PTI has been denouncing his detention and “treatment,” and Swati has petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) out of concern for “custodial killing.”
Former prime minister Khan criticized his most recent detention by the Balochistan police. He alleged that Quetta police took Swati from the hospital and brought him to an unidentified place, “endangering his life,” in spite of “serious chest discomfort and breathing troubles.”
