Azam Swati declared 'guilty' in May 9 cases

LAHORE: Police have declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Azam Swati ‘guilty’ in five cases registered against him related to May 9 incidents, ARY News reported.

This was informed by police to the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) hearing Azam Swati’s interim bail applications in five cases.

In today’s hearing, police said they have completed the investigation into the cases against Azam Swati and found the former minister ‘guilty’.

The court gave Swati’s lawyers one final chance to present arguments before adjourning the case.

At this juncture, the PTI leader, citing health issues, informed the court that he would not be able to argue on his bail applications today.

The judge, Manzoor Ali Gul, instructed the lawyers to present the arguments, noting that the bail might be granted if their arguments were persuasive.

Azam Swati claimed that cases registered against him were ‘false’.

The court remarked that even if the cases were fabricated, the legal process required an argument on the matter.

Later, the ATC adjourend the hearing on the interim bail pleas of Azam Swati until February 25.

In November, last year, the PTI leader was apprehended by the Taxila police following his release from Attock Jail. He is implicated in a case linked to PTI’s ‘violent’ protest.

The Taxila police took the PTI leader into custody in a case filed under The Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

He was charged along with PTI founder Imran Khan, Islamabad President Aamir Masood Mughal Khan.