Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Malik Ahmad Khan has said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry should not have been presented in court with a white cloth covering his face.
“If any kind of brutality happens with Fawad, I will condemn it. If due process is not followed, or in case of mistreatment, I will be the first one to [protest]. His face shouldn’t have been covered yesterday. They should have presented him in court openly,” said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
However, Malik believed that Fawad should not have threatened the Election Commission and their families. He said that his relationship with Chaudhry spans 30 years. “The one who threatened the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) isn’t the Fawad I know,” said Malik Khan.
Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar tweeted that such actions by the ECP will damage the remaining reputation of the institution.
Former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also spoke up, tweeting, “Fawad should not have been arrested and handcuffed.”
Stating that Chaudary was wrong to threaten ECP officials and families, Miftah said he should have instead been served a notice. “IK was wrong to jail us for months without charge only—-because we opposed him.”
Former Chairman Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, said that the Chaudhary’s arrest under section 124A, PPC, 1860, for sedition is unwarranted.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), deploring the continuous use of archaic, colonial laws against sedition by successive governments against their political opponents, said that Fawad Chaudhry was the latest in the series.
“The charges must be dropped immediately, and the government of the day must act more responsibly,” the human rights watchdog has stated.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) also strongly condemned Fawad Chaudhry’s arrest and demanded his immediate release.
SCBA termed his arrest a classic example of abuse of power and political victimisation.
