FIA puts PPP ministers, lawmakers on notice over ‘contemptuous speech’ against CJP
KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) issued notices on Wednesday to three Sindh ministers, five members of the National Assembly and other Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders to appear in person in a case of “delivering contemptuous, derogatory and indecent speeches” against the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), said official sources.
The FIA had registered an FIR against PPP activist Masoodur Rehman Abbasi on a complaint lodged by Mohammed Sohail Sajid under Sections 10, 11, 20 of PECA and Sections 500, 505 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The SC has also initiated a contempt petition against Abbasi on the charges of using derogatory and contemptuous language against the CJP.
The FIA’s Cyber Crime Centre (CRC) has sent notices for personal appearance to three provincial ministers namely Syeda Shehla Raza, Saeed Ghani and Nasir Husain Shah and five MNAs namely Ms Naz Baloch, Dr Nafisa Shah, Ms Shahida Rehmani, Qadir Khan Mandokhel, Abdul Qadir Patel and other PPP leaders as “during investigation, it came on record, that the accused, Masood Abbasi has sent the alleged video to the said personalities on June 17 and June 18, respectively”, according to contents of the notices send by Imran Haider, assistant director CRC of the FIA.
They have been directed to appear in person at FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on Aug 12 “to provide statement, version and to answer questions as put forth.”
The FIA believed that the said persons were “well acquainted with the matter.”
The federal body has taken this decision of sending notices to the PPP leaders for personal appearance under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code as “during the contempt petition, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed the FIA to probe and investigate all the circumstances and accomplices (if any) that led to delivery of the contemptuous and derogatory speech by Masood Rehman Abbasi.”
The FIA has sent almost identical notice barring date in two notices while one sent to MNA Abdul Qadir Patel contained words allegedly used by him when the lawmaker received such video of the speech.
The FIA notice claimed that after receiving the alleged video at 12.50pm on June 17, PPP lawmaker Patel observed that the accused had shown “courage,” and also uttered words “long live and great”.
Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2021