Pakistan ‘receives treason petitions’

Islamabad. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmed Shah has said that the federal government has received several petitions seeking charges under Article 6 of the Constitution, which defines the crime of high treason, against Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader and former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq for his remarks concerning circumstances of release of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

Addressing a ceremony in Nankana Sahib, Shah said the petitions, received in Islamabad and Lahore, have been sent for legal review, Geo News reported.

“Ayaz Sadiq has passed a very wrong statement about Indian pilot Abhinandan and the army chief,” Shah said.

The minister also slammed the opposition, dismissed allegations levelled against Pakistan from abroad and alleged that all this was an attempt to “secure opposition’s looted wealth”, the report said.

Shah’s comments came a day after Pakistan’s Information Minister Shibli Faraz had hinted at legal action against Sadiq over his remarks regarding the circumstances surrounding the release of Abhinandan Varthaman.

Speaking at the Pakistan National Assembly, Sadiq had recounted the events of February 2019 meeting after Indian Air Force carried out aerial strike at JeM terror camp.

He had talked about Imran Khan government releasing Varthaman and said Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa’s “legs were shaking” while Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the meeting of parliamentary leaders that India was about to attack their country.

His statement was heavily criticised by ministers of ruling party and also prompted the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Babar Iftikhar to hold a presser in which he sought to “correct the record” regarding the events.

Varthaman’s plane had crossed over to Pakistani side during dogfight with Pakistani planes on February 27, 2019.

Abhinandan returned to India from the Attari-Wagah border on March 1, 2019. He was later awarded Vir Chakra. (ANI)