Swati, during his stay in the United States, owned a chain of stores, was a member of Pakistani American Congress, played important role in high-profile charity events.
Hubert Digby Watson in Hazara Gazetteer 1907 wrote about Azam Swati's maternal grandfather that "Faqira Khan Swati is a thorn in the nose of us Englishmen".[5]
Because his family members, including his father, his uncles and his cousins, were already involved in local politics, he had early exposure to politics, competing in school and college debates and being elected president of the student council numerous times.[6] His brother Laiq Muhammad Khan is also a politician.
Having migrated to the United States in 1978, Swati began by working in a convenience store for $2.50 an hour job. Over the years he eventually himself became the ower of several C-stores. In 1997, he founded the Pak-Oil Company and acquired jobber-ship for Exxon and other major oil and gas companies, being involved in fuel distribution and wholesale business. He also invested in real estate in Texas' Golden Triangle and neighbouring Louisiana.[6]
Swati would remain active both in business, eventually owning more than 100 convenience stores, apartment buildings and restaurant franchises in East Texas and Louisiana, and also in law, as an attorney in Houston, Texas, before renouncing his American citizenship in 2003, having returned to Pakistan in 2001 and joined its politics.[7]
Political career in Pakistan
Swati became active in politics in the 1970s, when he was a practicing lawyer in Karachi and jailed many times for protesting against the military dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq.[6] This is the reason why he would move to the United States in 1978.
After moving back to Pakistan in 2001, he'd be elected as district nazim of Mansehra, noted for not accepting any salary or security protocol. He would then become a senator on a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam ticket, having joined the party in 2002. During these years he'd also help establish the Hazara University.[6]
Between 2008 and 2010, Swati had pursued the Hajj corruption case in the Supreme Court relentlessly, which ultimately forced the government to sack former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi.
Multiple arrests for 'obnoxious tweets' against state institutions
Swati was taken into custody on 13 October 2022 by the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) cybercrime unit for allegedly making ‘controversial tweets’ against state institutions. The case was registered under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and section 109 of the offense of aiding and abetting.[8] A district and session court in Islamabad on 21 October 2022 granted him post-arrest bail against surety bond worth PKR 1 million.[9]
Swati was arrested again on 27 November after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) booked him in Islamabad over a “highly obnoxious campaign of intimidating tweets [...] against state institutions”. It was the second time that Swati was booked and arrested by the FIA over his tweets about army officials in less than two months.[10]Islamabad High Court approved Swati's post-arrest bail on 3 January 2023 against the submission of surety bonds worth Rs 200,000.[10]
Torture
According to Azam Swati, he was stripped naked and constantly beaten and assaulted by military forces after his arrest in 2022.[11][12] Swati has stated that military officials were behind his custodial torture.[13] Swati officially said that “They kept beating me” and urged institutions to investigate his torture. He claimed that authorities beat him the “entire way” after his arrest and violated the privacy and integrity of his family. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan and the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights condemned his torture. During press conferences and statements, Swati revealed in 2022 that it was the Pakistan Armed Forces and authorities that were behind his arrest and torture.[11]
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