Court restrains police and FIA from rearresting Azam Swati in Hyderabad region

• Court bars police and FIA from arresting Swati until January 11.
• Circuit bench serves notices to Sindh IG, Hyderabad DIG, others. 
• Registration of cases on same issue violation of SC orders: counsel. 

In a sigh of relief, Sindh High Court's (SHC) Hyderabad circuit bench  Tuesday restrained the police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from rearresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) incarcerated leader Azam Swati in the cases registered against him within the jurisdiction (Mithi, Nawabshah and Hyderabad) of the court till January 11.

A two-member bench of the court, comprising Justice Adnanul Karim and Justice Mahmood A Khan, issued the order while taking up petitions filed against the 74-year-old senator for his controversial tweets against the senior military officers.

The circuit bench served notices to the Sindh inspector-general of police (IGP), Hyderabad deputy inspector-general (DIG) and FIA, directing them to submit the details of the cases lodged against the incarcerated senator on the next hearing.

At the outset of today’s hearing, Swati’s counsel argued that cases were registered against his client in the different districts of the Hyderabad region.

“Registration of multiple cases on the same issue is a violation of the Supreme Court’s orders,” he claimed.

The lawyer further said that perhaps cases were registered against his client across the country, adding that three FIRs were registered against Swati in Hyderabad, Mithi and Nawabshah.

He pleaded with the court to grant relief to his client within the jurisdiction of the court.

Meanwhile, the court barred the police from rearresting the PTI leader on the FIRs lodged in the Hyderabad region.

It is pertinent to mention here that several FIRs were registered against the PTI leader for his controversial tweets at different police stations in Karachi, Quetta, Jacobabad, Qambar and other cities last month. 

He was first arrested in the case of a controversial tweet in October, after he posted a highly-hateful and threatening message against the army chief, judiciary, and other state institutions, on his official Twitter account.

The senator secured bail in that case. But on November 27, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) once again arrested him for using abusive language against senior military officers, including the then-army chief.

Swati was shifted to Quetta via a special flight on December 2 as the judicial magistrate in Islamabad handed over his custody to Balochistan police as he was facing cases registered at Bela, Hub, Khuzdar, Pasni and Zhob police stations. However, later the BHC quashed all cases against him.

But later on December 9, the Balochistan High Court (BHC) ordered that all first information reports (FIR) registered against Swati for his controversial tweets against senior military officers be quashed.

Following the court orders, the incarcerated PTI leader was shifted from Balochistan to Sindh.

A court in Qambar had on December 11 approved three-day physical remand of Swati in the case of a controversial tweet.

A day earlier, the SHC had also barred the provincial police from arresting the PTI leader in more cases — ordering to combine two petitions filed by his son Usman Swati, seeking annulment of all the cases against the ailing politician.