Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Chaudhry Fawad Hussain was arrested on Monday night over charges of sedition after he allegedly threatened members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and their families during a press interaction.
Confirming the arrest, the Islamabad Police said a case was registered against Fawad on the complaint of ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan. “Fawad Chaudhry threatened the chief election commissioner and members [of the ECP] to prevent them from performing their constitutional duties,” it said in a posting on Twitter, adding the former information minister had also tried to incite violence and inflame the sentiments of the general public. “The case is being processed per law,” it added. After being taken into custody near Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore, Fawad was presented in a court at Cantonment to secure transit remand for his transfer to Islamabad.
According to the First Information Report registered, Fawad has been booked under Sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Two of the charges—124-A and 153-A—are non-bailable.
Earlier, during a media interaction outside PTI chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore, Fawad warned the ECP, its members and their families of consequences if they did not “act properly.” The FIR states that he described the ECP and its members as a “Munshi” (clerk), adding that anyone who became a part of the caretaker government in Punjab would be hounded by the public and the PTI until they were punished. He also warned the officials that they would not even be able to leave their homes.
During his speech, Fawad had also claimed that plans were underway to arrest Imran Khan and urged party supporters to gather at Zaman Park to “protect” their leader. The PTI, on its official Twitter profile, also said: “There are reports that the puppet government will try to arrest Imran Khan tonight.”