Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Tuesday, the PTI-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) arrested leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for making “hateful and seditious” comments about state institutions.
The PTI government in KP goes to court to stop “hateful and seditious” comments about institutions.
FIR filed at the Sharqi police station under Section 196 (prosecution for offenses against the state) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 108-A (abetting in Pakistan of offenses outside it), and 505 (statements that cause public mischief).
PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Rana Sanaullah, Atta Tarar, Ayaz Sadiq, Pervaiz Rashid, and JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman were all named in the application.
The person who filed the complaint is a lawyer. He or she said, “In the past, PDM leaders have made hateful comments about the country in an attempt to hurt the institutions and sovereignty.”
He said that the “provocative” comments about the military and the judiciary had been shared widely on social media and seen by a lot of people all over the world. He went on to say that, like all other patriots, he was deeply hurt by the statements, which he said were made at the request of an enemy country.
Ali Amin Gandapur, a former federal minister and leader of the PTI, had asked Dera Ismail Khan’s Additional Assistant Commissioner Muneer Ahmad to file the cases under Section 196 of the CrPC.
Sources said that the K-P government had been setting up a legal case against the PDM leaders. This is what happened next.
After the K-P cabinet gave its approval on August 19, the provincial government’s administration department sent out a notice.
But the provincial government didn’t say what it was going to do.
The notification says, “In exercise of powers given by Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989 […] and in accordance with the cabinet’s decision dated August 18, 2022, the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is pleased to authorize Muneer Ahmad, additional assistant commissioner, DI Khan to receive written complaints from Ali Ameen Gandapur or any other interested party and require local police to file FIR(s) under sections 108-A, 153-A, and 505
Earlier in the day, Special Assistant to the K-P Chief Minister Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif confirmed the news, saying that the K-P government, where the PTI is in charge, has decided to charge PDM leaders for their “hateful statements.”
The move comes after the anti-terrorism act was used to charge former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday.
