Senator Azam Swati of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) accused two military officers of torturing him in detention and requested army head General Qamar Javed Bajwa to “bury” the so-called political wing of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“Today, Bajwa Sahab, the eyes of the people are on you, and every political worker and official in this country wants you to bury the infamous political branch of ISI before your retirement,” the senator told the reporters.
The PTI leader stated that he was exposing the identity of those accused of torturing him with the “expectation” that the nation, its courts, president, and parliament would conduct a serious inquiry and the authorities would be “removed from their positions.”
“I want to remind the law-breaking major general and sector commander that throughout my 22-year political career, I have encountered far better generals, brigadiers, and police inspector generals who respected me for my position.”
The PTI senator further threatened to combat the “black wolves” who were hiding within their ranks on the blood of the army soldiers.
He said that the ISI was the heart and soul of the nation, but he also claimed that nobody was free from the “blackmail” of some individuals inside the institution.
The senator referred to Pakistan’s armed forces as the guarantors of the country’s and its people’s survival. He went on to say that every citizen has the right to honour the army.
According to Swati, people who disparaged the army were “criminals” under the Constitution but could only be so labelled by the courts through due process.
Swati said that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had little to do with his incarceration and blamed the FIA Cybercrime Department for filing a first information report (FIR) against him based on a “mere tweet.” He also requested that the agency reveal the person who lodged the FIR.
The senator emphasised that FIA agents entered his home at four in the morning and tormented him in front of his family and grandchildren. A member of his staff was also assaulted, according to Swati.
He argued that the torture was carried out in secret, questioning whose “beasts” the FIA had given him to.
The PTI leader went on to say that the use of torture had brought Guantanamo Bay’s dark past to the federal capital, where the Supreme Court and Parliament sat.
Who “directed the removal of the torture marks on his body,” according to Swati, should be questioned by the doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Additionally, he pleaded with the federal capital’s magistrates to “not lie” and conceal the occurrence because of those in power and claimed that they were complicit in his torture because they had permitted his physical remand despite allegations of torture.
The senator prayed for the deceased journalist Arshad Shareef at the start of the press conference and wished that the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) would honour his promise to stay out of politics.
“The entire nation will observe your resolve in the future.”
