LAHORE: A sessions court in Lahore on Monday extended the physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MP Mian Javed Latif for two more days in connection with “maligning” state institutions during a political talk show.
In March, Latif, while talking to a news channel, said “if anything [bad] happens to Maryam Nawaz, the party will not chant ‘Pakistan khappay [Long live Pakistan]’” — a veiled reference to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari who raised the slogan after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007, a time when it was feared that separatists in Sindh could capture the anger at the incident.
Subsequently, a case was registered against Latif under sections 120, 120(B), 153, 153(A), 500, and 500(1)(B) at the Township police station on the complaint of a Lahore resident, Jameel Saleem.
Police produced him before the court on completion of his previous remand, seeking an extension in the period for further investigation.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court announced to extend the remand.
In the FIR, the complainant had claimed that the politician, by making the statements, “threatened” the country’s security, government, and state institutions. The lawmaker, Saleem further said, sowed “seeds of hate” between the PPP and PML-N workers.
The complainant said the MP hurt the public sentiment to spread chaos in the country, thereby, violated the laws.
