The federal capital police registered a first information report – including terrorism charges – against three supporters of PTI’s UK chapter and a YouTuber on Thursday for allegedly intimidating the judicial officers.
“They also obstructed the learned judge in discharge of his duties and assaulted him for restraining from his duties,” said the complaint filed by Nasir Iqbal with the Ramna Police Station.
The copy of FIR was registered by an Islamabad based journalist Aamir Ilyas Rana on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The four suspects who were named in the FIR were Shayan Ali, Sarah Mir Gilgati, Imran Khalil, and Adil Farooq Raja.
The complaint invoked sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
It also included section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism), 11W (printing, publishing, or disseminating any material to incite hatred or giving projection to anyperson convicted for a terrorist act or any proscribed organization or an organization placed underobservation or anyone concerned in terrorism), and 21 (i) which deals with the protection of judges of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.
The complainant cites the video, having a PTI supporter, against Additional District and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar who sentenced PTI chief Imran Khan to three years in prison in a case pertaining to the selling of gifts.
Dilawar’s name was among the top trends on X after the decision, which also led to Khan’s disqualification. His name surfaced on social media after reports that he was due to visit the UK for training on human rights.
Dilawar flew to England to participate in training probably on the same day he announced the decision. The University of Hull which conducted the training had to clarify that it had no role in the selection of judges from Pakistan after a strong reaction from many people on social media.
The complainant highlights a video that according to him went viral in which the accused allegedly said he would make the life of a judicial officer hell who was en route to a training to an educational institution in the UK. He also spoke about another clip where the accused Shayan and his team were holding placards against a judicial officer at the airport.
It alleged that the accused were recording videos of judicial officers, including female, for “nefarious designs.” Adil Raja, a YouTuber, joined the activities online by making videos aiding the protesters, it claimed.
The FIR said: “These actions by Shayan his team Sarah Mir, Adil Farooq, and others were designed to coerce and intimidate the Pakistan authorities especially the judicial officers to force them to discharge their lawful duties in certain way ie to benefit a political party through their decisions.”
The complaint claimed that the actions of above mentioned individuals intended to create a sense of fear in society.
“Shayan, his team and others were directing activators connected with the commission of such offences, for purpose of terrorism. They have committed acts of terrorism and also glorified these terrorists with the purpose to attain the political objective by creating fear and insecurity in judiciary and sections of public servants,” it said.
The journalist who shared the FIR copy while quoting a senior officer said that the addresses of all the named accused living in the UK have been found in Pakistan. All the options were available from arrest through Interpol by issuing a red warrant to the sale and confiscation of the properties in Pakistan through the court, it added.
While their co-accused who were in Pakistan would also be caught, said the post.
