On Monday, Lieutenant General (retired) Amjad Shoaib was arrested by the Islamabad police on charges of inciting the public against national institutions.
According to Islamabad Police, sources officers from the Ramna police station apprehended him at his residence in the federal capital.
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Sources said a First Information Report (FIR) was registered last evening against the former 3-star Military officer at the Ramna police station following his television interview, under sections 153A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR was registered under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
According to the FIR, filed on the complaint of Islamabad Magistrate Owais Khan, the former army officer incited people to revolt against institutions and attempted to provoke disharmony, and anarchy and create a law and order situation in the country through his controversial statements made on a TV show.
After his arrest, Military Officer was presented in front of the local court in the federal capital. The former military officer was presented in the court of Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah.
Today’s Hearing
During the hearing, the prosecution informed the court about the case registered against the former General and requested a seven-day physical remand.
Prosecutor Adnan contended that the Ex-General, through his statement on TV, tried to spread hate between the government, the opposition and the government employees.
The lawyer also told the court that they require a photogrammetric test of the former military officer and have to take him to Lahore for the purpose.
The prosecutor then requested the court to approve seven-day physical remand of Lt Gen (retd) Shoaib.
Meanwhile, Lt Gen (retd) Shoaib’s lawyer Mudassir Khalid Abbasi opposed the physical remand request and instead urged the court to discharge the case.
“The sections inserted in the FIR do not apply to Amjad Shoaib,” said the lawyer. He added that his client only gave an example of a certain situation.
The lawyer also contended that the case against Shoaib was registered on “political grounds”, claiming that his client was also being harassed.
“If legitimate criticism is wrong then eliminate opposition from the system,” argued Abbasi.
Lt Gen (r) Shoaib’s other lawyer Qaiser Imam told the court that the former military officer had admitted uttering the words and there was no need to conduct photogrammetric and voice matching tests.
However, the prosecution told the magistrate that it was necessary for the trial to carry out the tests.
Moving on, Riasat Ali Azad, Shoaib’s third lawyer, told the court that his client Lt Gen Shoaib is a patriot. He also shared that his client had fought the 1965 and 1971 wars.
All three lawyers of the former military officer then requested the court to discharge the case. While the prosecution opposed the request to discharge the case.
The court then reserved its verdict and approved a three-day physical remand of Lieutenant General (retd) Amjad Shoaib.
