Govt has damaged reputation of green passport: Fawad Chaudhry
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Monday the mindless policies in the past caused damage to the country which is currently reeling from economic and political crises.
The PTI leader appeared before a district and sessions court to attend a hearing of the sedition case filed against him for inciting people against the members of the ECP and their families.
During the hearing, the police investigators failed to submit the challenge in the case. To which, the PTI stalwart’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry requested the court to fix next hearing of the case after March 3 as by-elections on National Assembly seats are scheduled for March 16.
Later, the session court adjourned the hearing till March 18.
Talking to media outside a court in the federal capital, the former minister said a sedition case had been formed against him, adding: “All my voters are traitors if I am the traitor”. He said police could not submit a challan in the sedition case.
Lashing out at the coalition governments, he said they had accepted PTI lawmakers’ resignations but were not ready to hold elections. Saying PDM leadership had lost its credibility, he said the government officials could not face the public.
“This government has damaged the reputation of green passport,” he said, adding that the current rulers were attempting to create hurdles in the way of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
He further said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was reluctant to implement a decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC) that polls in Punjab should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
The case
A case had been registered against Fawad Chaudhry in Islamabad’s Kohsar police station on the application of ECP secretary; who blamed PTI leader for talking against the commission and chief election commissioner.
Fawad Chaudhry was arrested by police from Lahore during the wee hours of January 25 for threatening CEC.
The first information report (FIR) was filed against him for his speech where he allegedly stated that the status of the ECP is the same as a ‘secretary’ and the ‘chief election commissioner signs documents like a clerk’.
The former minister was arrested shortly after he held a press conference in Lahore, where he threatened the members of the ECP and their families with repercussions if “those involved in the May 25 incident,” were appointed (in Punjab caretaker setup) or retained in their positions.
He also strongly criticized the appointment of Mohsin Naqvi as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister and stated that “those who are being appointed as the caretaker of [Punjab] government will be followed until they are punished”.
He also reported to have lodged a formal complaint with the ECP against the appointment of those directly involved in the crackdown in Punjab.
The complaint invokes sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
