Lieutenant General (retd) Amjad Shoaib was arrested by Islamabad police in the federal capital on Monday morning.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against Gen Shoaib on February 25 at Islamabad’s Ramna Police Station.
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 controversial statements he made on a TV show.
In the complaint, Magistrate Khan said that the retired general — in an interview on BOL TV’s show ‘Imran Khan Bol Kay Saath’ aired on Saturday — passed statements that “incited government officials and Opposition from performing their government and legal duties”.
During today’s hearing, the prosecution informed the court about the case registered against the former three-star general and requested a seven-day physical remand.
The prosecutor then read out the text of the complaint filed against the retired general.
“Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib was present as a guest on a private television [channel]. Hatred was spread against the government through his statement. Through his statement, an attempt was made to create hatred between the government, opposition and government officials,” he read the complaint.
The prosecutor said, “The relations between the Opposition and the government are not well; they were incited through the statement.
“The Opposition is being incited to employ a stricter strategy against the government. Through Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib’s statement, hatred is being spread between three factions,” he added.
“As per the sections imposed on Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib, a sentence of five years can be given,” prosecutor Adnan said.
He said a photogrammetric and a voice matching were required, adding that the former will be done in Lahore.
At this point during the hearing, Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib’s counsel Abbasi opposed the grant of the physical remand and requested that his client be discharged from the case.
Advocate Abbasi said, “The court has to see whether Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib even committed a crime or not. If the magistrate thinks the suspect has not committed any offence, then [Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib] can be discharged from the case.”
Advocate Abbasi said, “Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib is almost 80 years old and is being harassed since a long time. He was sent behind bars within an hour of filing the case.”
Imam, another member of Lt-Gen (R) Shoaib’s defence team, said his client had acknowledged giving the said statements on the TV channel. “If he has admitted his statement and presence [on the TV show], then why does a photogrammetric and voice matching test need to be done?” he asked.
Upon this, the prosecutor said, “The evidence of voice matching and a photogrammetric test is necessary for the trial.”
At one point, the retired general’s counsel said “the arrests of [only] two institutions’ officials had been pending,” adding that “the next arrest could perhaps be of a member of the judiciary.”
Following the conclusion of the arguments from both sides, the court reserved its verdict.
