The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has issued a report detailing its assessment of the recently-concluded general election, expressing deep concerns over a decline in fairness scores compared to previous election cycles.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Monday said that the Supreme Court’s (SC) human rights cell was looking into the objectionable video involving Senator Azam Swati and his wife, which the PTI leader says was sent to him and is from his stay at the apex court’s judicial lodges in Quetta.
On Saturday, Swati burst into tears before the media, saying that his wife had received a video featuring him and her and about which he could not share further details because the “daughters of my country are listening”.
The senator had blamed the interior minister and two military officers for conspiring against him and said they should be held accountable if something happened to him.
He had said that his daughter had told him that the video was from when Swati and his wife had visited Quetta. Recalling that visit, the senator said Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani had made arrangements for them to stay at the Supreme Court’s judicial lodges in Quetta.
The development was widely condemned across the political aisle.
In a rebuttal issued yesterday, the SC said that Swati had “never used/stayed in Supreme Court Judges Rest House at Quetta”.
During the hearing of a contempt plea against PTI chairman Imran Khan today, the CJP remarked that the top court’s HR Cell had taken up Swati’s matter, elaborating that the SC would intervene if required.
“But you never stayed at the Supreme Court’s rest house,” the top judge added.
“Your request is being reviewed and the matter will be dealt with according to the law.”
Meanwhile, Swati said that he could only show the video to the apex court’s judges.
Here, CJP Bandial said: “Swati sahab, may God give you patience […] we are instructing Pemra (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) and PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) to remove the alleged video.”
The senator, however, contended that it was possible that the video which was circulating online was not the same as the video sent to him.
Comments
Post a Comment