World News | High Court Grants Bail to Senator Held in Custody over Controversial Tweets Against Pakistan Army

Islamabad, Jan 2 (PTI) A top court here on Monday granted bail to Senator Azam Khan Swati, a close aide of ousted Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who had been in custody since November last year over his controversial tweets against the Army.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked and arrested Senator Swati in Islamabad over a "highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets […] against state institutions".

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Earlier this month, the senator who was loyal to former premier Khan had approached a special court in Islamabad for bail, which was rejected, following which he filed a post-arrest bail petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq approved Swati's bail against the submission of surety bonds worth Rs 2,00,000.

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It was the second time that Swati was booked and arrested by the FIA over his tweets about senior Pakistan Army officials in less than two months.

During his arrest after the first tweet in October 2022, he was allegedly subjected to torture and humiliation by officials of security agencies. He has also claimed that a video to embarrass his family was also sent by agencies to his wife.

As he demanded action against his alleged tormentors, he targeted a senior Army officer of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on social media, leading to the new case and the subsequent arrest.

After his arrest in Islamabad, Swati was taken to Balochistan province in the first week of December and several cases were registered against him. However, the Balochistan High Court granted him bail and also barred the police from filing further cases against him.

The Senator was then taken to the Sindh province where again he was booked under various cases. However, the Sindh High Court (SHC) accepted his bail and he was brought back to Islamabad.

After his second arrest in November, the Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority prohibited the Senator's media coverage on all TV channels.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)