Controversial tweet: Testimonies of four prosecution witnesses in cases against Swati recorded

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Thursday recorded the testimonies of four prosecution witnesses in the controversial tweet cases against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator Azam Khan Swati.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, while hearing the cases, adjourned the case till October 27 after the prosecution recorded the statements of four witnesses and defence counsel completed cross-examination of one witness.

The defence counsel will continue cross-examining the remaining witnesses at the next hearing.

The cases against Swati were registered in November 2022 by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing, and now the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) is dealing with these after its establishment in April 2025.

According to the agency, the PTI lawmaker had launched a “highly obnoxious campaign” on Twitter with the alleged intent to defame and malign state institutions. The FIR was registered on a complaint filed by Technical Assistant Aneesur Rehman. It included sections from both the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 and the Pakistan Penal Code, such as Section 131 (abetting mutiny), 500 and 501 (defamation), 505 (public mischief), and 109 (abetment).

The FIA maintained that the tweets posted by Swati were part of a malicious attempt to create unrest and discredit institutions with “ulterior motives.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025