ISLAMABAD: Shandana Gulzar Khan, a former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MP, has been booked for sedition in a case filed over her criticism of the military made during a political chat show.
The first information report (FIR) was registered on January 31 at a women’s police station in Islamabad and Khan has been charged under sections 153-A, 505 and 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The FIR claims Khan attempted to incite violence and create disharmony in the country through her comments on the TV channel.
🚨 Breaking: FIR against Ex Member National Assembly PTI Shandana Gulzar Khan pic.twitter.com/jVyggcJDw1
— Shiffa Z. Yousafzai (@Shiffa_ZY) February 1, 2023
This makes Khan the third opposition lawmaker to face sedition charges after Azam Khan Swati and Fawad Chaudhry, both of whom are currently out on bail.
Khan, who holds a law postgraduate degree from the University of Cambridge, was elected to the National Assembly in the 2018 general elections, securing a reserved seat for women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Throughout the four-year term, she held the positions of deputy minister and parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Commerce.
In September 2019, she was elected chairperson of Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, a London-based organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights, for a three-year term.
