A Karachi judge on Friday directed the police to book Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and Water Resources Minister Faisal Vawda if a cognisable offence was made out against the minister.
The directives came after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Abdul Qadir Mandokhail approached the court, pleading it to direct the police to register an FIR against Vawda for using non-parliamentary language against the PPP and PML-N leadership and violating the sanctity of the armed forces by bringing a boot to a TV show.
The minister, who was on a talk show with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) representative Javed Abbasi had startled all by placing a black boot that he had brought with him on top of the table.
Vawda had mocked the PML-N’s unconditional support for the Army Act bill, saying the party was “lying down to kiss the boot”.
“I am going to bring this [boot] to every talk show,” he said. “This is how democratic the PML-N is. They lie down to kiss the boot,” he had added. Both Abbasi and Kaira eventually left the show in protest. Vawda was subsequently banned for two weeks from TV on the order of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The judge also directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Mithadar Police Station to record the statement of the PPP leader under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
During the hearing on Friday, Additional Sessions Judge (South) Ghulam Murtaza Baloch passed these directives while disposing of an application filed by Mandokhail under Section 22-A of the CrPC.
The PPP leader had approached the court against the Mithadar SHO for allegedly not entertaining his application to register a case against the PTI leader.
At the outset, the South Superintendent of Police (SP) filed a report in compliance with the court’s order, claiming that the applicant had not approached him for the registration of the case and requested the judge to direct Advocate Mandokhail to approach the relevant police station so that his grievance may be addressed.
