The lawyers of the retired three-star general has asked the court to discharge he case as their client fought 1971 and 1965 wars and is a patriate.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Feb 27th, 2023) A judicial magistrate on Monday turned down police’s request and allowed three-day physical remand of Lieutenant General (retired) Amjad Shoaib in a case related to inciting public against the national interest.
Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah announced the verdict reserved earlier.
During the proceedings, the prosecution told the court about the case registered against the former three-star general and south a seven-day physical remand.
A prosecutor argued that the ex-general, through his statement on tv, tried to spread hate between the government, the opposition and the government employees. He also asked the court to grant his physical remand as they had to conduct a photogrammetric test of the former military officer and have to take him to Lahore for the purpose.
However, lawyer Mudassir Khalid Abbasi representing Lt Gen (retd) Shoaib opposed the physical remand request and instead urged the court to discharge the case.
The lawyer said that the sections inserted in the FIR do not apply to Amjad Shoaib, pointing out 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", adding that his client was also being harassed.
“If legitimate criticism is wrong then eliminate opposition from the system,” argued Abbasi.
Qaiser Imam who was also representing the retired army officer also 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 important for the trial to carry out the tests.
Moving on, Riasat Ali Azad, Shoaib’s third lawyer, told the court that his client 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 latest reports said that Lieutenant General (retired) was booked by Ramna police under Sections 153A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The FIR was lodged against him on the complaint of Islamabad magistrate Awais Khan after his interview on a private news channel.
The complainant said the former army officer attempted to incite public through his provocative statement in the interview aired on Feb 25 night.
Answering to a question about PTI Chairman’s ongoing court arrest drive, Mr Shoaib said it would not work.
He suggested they needed to change its strategy.
"For example, they say no one will go to public offices in Islamabad and if people act on your call, it will make the government to thing about it,” he added.
The complainant also said the Mr Shoaib through his statement had attempted to incite the government employees and opposition and it could cause anarchy in the country. He asked the authorities to take an action against the former army officer.
Last year, retired Lt Gen Amjad Shuaib was summoned by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after he claimed that the Pakistani prime minister held a meeting with Israeli delegation during his visit to an Arab country.
