Sedition case filed against PTI leader Shandana Gulzar

Former MNA is accused of inciting hatred against state institutions during a talk-show on a private TV channel

A sedition case has been registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former lawmaker Shandana Gulzar Khan for inciting people and spreading hatred against institutions.

The case was registered against the former National Assembly member at the Women's Police Station in Islamabad for inciting hatred against institutions during her appearance on a private TV channel programme.

Sections 153A, 124A and 505, which deal with sedition, incitement and spreading hatred, have been included in the case.

Shandana Gulzar was elected to the National Assembly on a reserved seat for women from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the 2018 general elections. She has served as a deputy minister and parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Commerce.

Read more: PTI's Fawad Chaudhry released from Adiala jail

The former lawmaker is the latest in a list of PTI leaders who have been booked on sedition charges in the recent past.

On January 25, PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry was arrested from Lahore on sedition charges for allegedly “inciting violence” against the Election Commission of Pakistan members and the chief election commissioner. He was released on bail earlier today.

On January 29, a Dera Ismail Khan citizen filed a complaint against former federal minister Ali Amin Gandapur for allegedly spreading hatred against the state through "provocative" statements on social media.

In August, another PTI leader, Shahbaz Gill, was arrested by the Islamabad Police for "sedition and inciting the public against state institutions".