Over 86,000 including Imran Khan signed online petition seeking justice for PTI Senator Azam Swati

Over 86,000 persons including former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan signed the online petition seeking justice for PTI Senator Azam Swati.

Imran Khan wrote on Twitter, “I have signed this petition; and I want all those who are appalled at what Azam Swati continues to go through & those who care about rule of law & human rights should also sign this petition.”

I have signed this petition; and I want all those who are appalled at what Azam Swati continues to go through & those who care about rule of law & human rights should also sign this petition. https://t.co/qNosD2Z8m6

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 29, 2022

The online petition on Change.org started by Ameena Karim seeking 150,000 signatures stated, “Pakistani Senator Azam Swati’s life is in danger. ”

“On October 12th, seventy-four-year-old Senator Azam Swati, a sitting parliamentarian, was arrested under a controversial cybercrime law for posting a tweet critical of Pakistan’s powerful Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa .Senator Swati claimed that he too was subject to physical abuse and humiliation. He was taken to an undisclosed location, stripped naked, brutally tortured, and the entire ordeal was recorded on video.”

“On November 5th, Senator Swati held a press conference and related a heart-breaking ordeal he and his family had to suffer. A secretly recorded video of his intimate moments with his wife, while they were staying in government guesthouse in Quetta some years ago, was anonymously sent to his daughter, who is a US citizen. His family were subjected to blackmail and threatened that the video would be leaked if Senator Swati continued to raise his voice against the situation in Pakistan. Instead of succumbing to this extortion, Senator Swati bravely and honorably went public, risking humiliation and embarrassment if the video is indeed leaked.”

“Since going public with that information, Senator Swati, together with other Senators representing opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has marched to the Supreme Court more than a dozen times, to protest the gross violation of his rights, and seeking intervention from the honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan using his suo moto powers.”

“On November 27th, Senator Swati was arrested once again, and charged with sedition under the same cybercrime laws. Fawad Chaudhry, Head of Media Affairs forPTI, relayed in a media interaction that Senator Swati’s son has reported receiving credible threats that his father would be murdered in a staged police encounter on the way to court.”

“PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has called upon the superior judiciary to play its part in protecting Senator Swati’s fundamental rights under Article 14 (and other provisions) of the Constitution of Pakistan.”

“We call upon the honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of these incidents and the threat to Senator Swati’s life, in order to ensure:”

1. Senator Swati’s fundamental rights are protected
2. Those responsible for violating the law and constitution are held to account
3. Those who planned and ordered the abuse to be brought to light and held to account

On November 28, the PTI chief wrote on Twitter, “Article 14 of our Constitution refers to “Inviolability of dignity of man”; so my question to our Honourable SC Judges is whether this provision is only applicable to the powerful of the State & for everyone else there is no protection of their basic human dignity?”

“Senator Swati was stripped naked, tortured, humiliated through an illegal video sent to his wife. For weeks he has sought justice from SC to no avail. So when he reacts in justifiable anger & frustration, he is put in jail & at last count 15 FIRs registered against him across Pakistan.”

He further said, “Again, I ask our Honourable judges where is the justice in all this? Is the Article 14 Constitutional provision only to be applied selectively for the high & mighty State functionaries?”

Article 14 of our Constitution refers to “Inviolability of dignity of man”; so my question to our Honourable SC Judges is whether this provision is only applicable to the powerful of the State & for everyone else there is no protection of their basic human dignity?

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 28, 2022