Pakistan books Prime Minister of PoK in sedition case; let that sink in

The wave of Pakistan's political unrest has now reached PoK as Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has been booked for conspiracy and state institutions. Haider is the latest political leader to booked after several leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Khawaja Saad Rafique have been named in the FIR on various charges for conspiring against Pakistan and the army.

The FIR was registered under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code related to cyberterrorism, criminal conspiracy to wage war against Pakistan, condemnation of the creation of Pakistan, advocacy of the abolishment of its sovereignty, sedition and promotion of enmity between different groups.

Other members of PML-N who have been booked after participating in the party's central executive committee and central working committee meetings last week include Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pervez Rashid, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ataullah Tarar.

Nawaz Sharif on PAK govt

According to the Dawn, the FIR stated, "Instead of availing medical treatment in London, Nawaz is carrying out a planned conspiracy to defame the country and its institutions by making inflammatory speeches."

It alleges that in the speeches made on September 20 and October 1, the former premier supported the policies of neighbouring India so that Pakistan would continue to remain on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) 'grey list', the newspaper said.

"The main purpose of Nawaz's speeches is to isolate Pakistan in front of the international community and to declare it a rogue state," the FIR said, adding that Nawaz Sharif was doing this to help his "friend" and Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had said last week that Nawaz Sharif was playing a "dangerous game" by levelling allegations of political interference against the Pakistan Army. He also claimed that India was helping the PML-N leader.

In a significant multiparty virtual conference held in Islamabad on September 20, Nawaz Sharif, speaking from London, had hit out at the army, accusing it of installing Imran Khan's incompetent government, wrecking Pakistan's economy and foreign relations, censoring the media and indulging in massive corruption.

He had said that it is very important that Pakistan's armed forces stay away from the governmental system according to the country's Constitution and founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's vision, and not interfere with the people's choice.

"We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well," Sharif had said.

The former Prime Minister, who was deposed and jailed in a corruption case in Pakistan, has been in the UK for medical treatment since November last year.

The conference was attended by Pakistan's main opposition parties, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

A religious hardliner, Rehman had held the opposition parties responsible for allowing the Imran Khan government to survive and urged them to "take concrete decisions".

(Includes inputs from IANS)