Pakistan
‘I stand by my position’: disgruntled PTI MPA
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Nazir Chauhan, who was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore said that he stands by his position.
The arrested PTI MPA was produced before the FIA cybercrime team, where he spoke to the media.
"I am an elected member of the Punjab Assembly from Lahore. It should not be the happen that an unelected person organizes this," he said.
MPA Chauhan added, "Let's see what his intention is," “You know that Shahzad Akbar is sitting on a powerful seat.”
"All I wanted to ask, those who are sitting on the powerful seats, who are they?"
The arrested PTI leader also said that It is not possible when Imran Khan is my Prime Minister while I am the MPA of PTI and an unelected person do such an act with me.
A first information report (FIR) had been registered against Chohan, who is part of the PTI's estranged Jahangir Khan Tareen group, on the complaint of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior and Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar in May.
Akbar accused Chohan of making allegations concerning the former's religious beliefs during an appearance on a television channel, adding that these statements had put his life at risk.
The FIR was registered under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 298 (making statements with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 153 (provoking to cause riot) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Earlier, Mr Chohan was arrested from the LDA office in Lahore and was presented before a local court which confirmed his bail subject to submission of the surety bonds.
The court ordered that Nazir Chohan should be released on bail if he submitted bail bonds of Rs100,000 with one local surety to the satisfaction of the court. Since Mr Chohan did not submit the bonds on Tuesday, he was sent to the judicial lockup to be presented in the court again on August 10.