KARACHI: Police submitted on Monday an interim charge-sheet before the administrative judge of antiterrorism courts against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Nehal Hashmi for his controversial speech apparently against the judiciary and members of the joint investigation team probing the alleged money laundering by the prime minister and his family.

After accepting the interim investigation report, the administrative judge of ATCs, Karachi, sent the case to ATC-I for trial and directed the investigating officer to file the final investigation report within 14 days before the trial court. The court also asked Senator Hashmi to be present before the trial court on July 13.

The disowned PML-N leader was booked last month for allegedly extending threats to the judiciary and public servants after his May 28 controversial speech went viral on social media and was aired by TV channels in which he allegedly used threatening language against the judiciary and members of the JIT.

The investigating officer placed eight prosecution witnesses in the interim charge-sheet and submitted that the final report would be filed later as some TV channels had yet to reply to the letters sent to them to confirm the authenticity of the speech’s video while approval by competent authority, as required under Sections 195 and 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code, was also awaited.

Report on controversial speech received from Pemra

According to the interim investigation report, police seized the video of the speech and sent it to the chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and TV channels for verification. The report from Pemra has been received, it added.

“Those who have held [the Sharif family] accountable, and those who are doing so, listen with open ears. We wouldn’t spare you. You’re in service today and will retire tomorrow. We will make it difficult for your children, your family to live in Pakistan,” Senator Hashmi was quoted as having said in the interim report.

A lawyer had also moved an application last month before a district and sessions court seeking the inclusion of terrorism charges in the FIR when the case was under investigation and that the courts add any offence made out during investigation, it added.

The report further stated that when the interim charge sheet was placed before the district prosecutor (East), he, in the scrutiny note, said that the case came within the ambit of the antiterror law since the senator had threatened and severely criticised members of the JIT and provoked the public against the judiciary. Therefore, in light of the evidence that came up on record and the opinion of the prosecutor, relevant clauses of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 had been incorporated in an FIR, the interim report said.

A case was registered against the senator on June 4 at the Bahadurabad police station under Sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 228 (intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial proceeding) and 505 (statements inciting public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code on behalf of the state after the attorney general had asked the Sindh prosecutor general to initiate proceedings against him over his remarks since the speech was made in Karachi.

On July 3, Senator Hashmi got interim bail from a sessions court. However, his bail has become infructuous since relevant sections of the ATA have been added and now he has to approach an ATC for bail.

Mr Hashmi’s controversial speech landed him in hot water, as he had to tender resignation from the Senate — which he later withdrew — while the PML-N had also revoked his party membership.

The Supreme Court also took suo motu notice against Senator Hashmi for his remarks in which he appeared to threaten the JIT members and the judiciary for probing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2017