Islamabad court acquits retired Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib in incitement case

The court appearance comes as a photo of the retired general from lockup went viral on social media

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A district and sessions court on Thursday acquitted retired Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib in a case related to incitement against state institutions.

Additional Sessions Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict reserved earlier in the day after hearing arguments from prosecution and defence lawyers.

The former army officer was produced before the court following the completion of his three-day remand amid tight security. The court appearance came as a photo of the retired general from lockup went viral on social media. He can be seen standing behind the bars in the photo.

During Thursday's hearing, Mr Shoaib’s lawyer contended that the case registered against his client did not fall under the Section 505. He said the talk show where Mr Shoaib gave the remarks was held to discuss a matter related to elections. Now, the Supreme Court had issued its ruling ordering elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days. 

“If the decision was made earlier, such talk show would not have happened,” he said while asking the court to discharge the case against his client. However, the prosecutor had opposed it. 

In his ruling, the sessions court ordered release of the former military officer in the case. 

Previous Hearing 

In previous hearing, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah approved the three-day physical remand of retired Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib by turning down his seven-day plea of the police. At the outset of the hearing, the prosecution had informed the court about the case registered against Mr Shoaib 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. He told the court that they required a photogrammetric test of the former military officer and had to take him to Lahore for the purpose. The prosecutor then requested the court to approve seven-day physical remand of Mr Shoaib.

On the other hand, retired Lt Gen Shoaib’s counsel Mudassir Khalid Abbasi had 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", adding that his client was also being harassed. “If legitimate criticism is wrong, then eliminate opposition from the system,” argued Abbasi.

The retired general’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.

Riasat Ali Azad, Shoaib’s third lawyer, told the court that his client was a patriot who had fought the 1965 and 1971 wars. All three lawyers of the former military officer then requested the court to discharge the case.

The prosecution opposed the request to discharge the case. The court then reserved its verdict.

-- Arrested --

The Islamabad police had arrested retired Lt Gen Amjad Shoaib in a pre-dawn action on Monday for allegedly inciting the public against state institutions. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Ramna police station against him under Sections 153A and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The case was registered against him on the complaint of

Islamabad magistrate Awais Khan following 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.

Responding to a question about the PTI chairman’s ongoing court arrest drive, Mr Shoaib said it would not work and suggested they need to change its strategy. “Let's suppose they say no one will go to public offices in Islamabad and if people act on your call, it will make the government think about it,” he said.

The complainant 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 Shoaib 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.