Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has questioned the applicability of Article 14 of the Constitution — which refers to the “Inviolability of dignity of man” — condemning the alleged mental and physical abuse of Senator Azam Swati, saying whether the article is only for the powerful people of the country.
The former prime minister in a series of tweets addressed the Supreme Court, asking if the clause only applied to the State’s powerful.
Article 14 of our Constitution refers to “Inviolability of dignity of man”; so my question to our Honourable SC Judges is whether this provision is only applicable to the powerful of the State & for everyone else there is no protection of their basic human dignity?
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 28, 2022
Imran and other PTI officials have expressed their regret about the alleged abuse of Swati while he was being held in custody and the disclosure of an offensive video that supposedly showed the senator and his wife.
Party leaders have also filed petitions in the SC for various “important matters” including the assassination attempt on Imran and the purported video of Swati with his wife.
In his tweet today, the PTI chief asked the top court whether Article 14 was only applicable to “the powerful of the State and for everyone else, there was “no protection of their basic human dignity”.
Again, I ask our Honourable judges where is the justice in all this? Is the Article 14 Constitutional provision only to be applied selectively for the high & mighty State functionaries?
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 28, 2022
“Swati was stripped naked, tortured, and humiliated through an objectionable video sent to his wife. For weeks he has sought justice from the SC to no avail and upon expressing his anger and frustration he was put in jail,” Imran said, adding that at least 15 FIRs were registered against the senator from across Pakistan.
Addressing the judges again, he repeated his question: “Is the Article 14 Constitutional provision only to be applied selectively for the high and mighty state functionaries?”
Article 14 of the Constitution states that the “dignity of man and […] the privacy of home shall be inviolable” and that “no person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence”.
Imran’s inquiries come a day after Swati was detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the second time in less than two months due to his tweets critical of senior military officers. Later, he was remanded for two days into the agency’s custody.
The PTI leader was also the subject of separate FIRs in Sindh and Balochistan for “derogatory language” and “provoking the populace against the army.”
Earlier on Monday, PTI leader Senator Azam Khan approached the Islamabad High Court fearing that he could be killed in the custody, asking the IHC to stop police from transferring him to any other place.
In a petition, Swati claimed that he was the subject of an investigation by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
The senator said in his plea that he had experienced the harshest torture while detained. He claimed to have knowledge that he might be killed while in captivity.
“Azam Swati can be subjected to any sort of inhuman treatment,” read the petition, seeking the details of the cases registered against him.
The PTI leader in his petition stated that basic human rights should be ensured in his matter.
The appeal demanded that Swati not be relocated, noting that cases had been brought against the senator in Sindh.
The appeal added the federal government, the FIA, and the inspector generals of Sindh and Balochistan as parties.
