ISLAMABAD: The joint opposition in Senate demanded the immediate resignation of Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday in connection with the alleged video leak controversy involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati and his wife.
In the meeting of the parliamentary party of the joint opposition in the Senate, the opposition legislators, led by Leader of the Opposition in Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem, lambasted the chairman Senate over his alleged role in Swati’s alleged video leak episode.
The lawmakers also came down hard on Sanjrani for not issuing Swati’s production order during the recent Senate session when Swati was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
In a hard-hitting presser on Saturday, Swati had alleged that his wife was sent an objectionable video from an unknown number on Friday night that featured her with her husband.
According to the PTI senator, the video was recorded during his visit to a judicial residential facility in Quetta in August this year. His particular visit and stay in Quetta was facilitated by the Senate chief, Swati alleged.
Swati’s family members are reported to have left Pakistan.
After remaining under fire from different political and public circles, Sanjrani finally formed a 14-member committee on Sunday comprising senators from all the political parties having representation in Senate as well as an independent senator to investigate the matter and furnish a report in 30 days.
However, the joint opposition rejected this move and demanded Swati’s resignation in Monday’s meeting.
Before this episode, Sanjrani drew strong criticism from the opposition lawmakers for not issuing the production order of Swati who was arrested by the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing last month for his “defamatory” tweet about army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Swati was released on bail by a district and sessions court. After his release, the PTI leader alleged that he was subjected to extreme humiliation during his detention including having been stripped naked and severely tortured by the officials of a premier intelligence agency at the behest of two senior military men. The PTI senator as well as Chairman PTI Imran Khan has repeatedly named these two officials in their pressers and public addresses, demanding action against them.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022