Pakistan

SC grants bail to MNA Ali Wazir

Staff Reporter – Islamabad:

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday granted bail to Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Ali Wazir almost a year after he was detained.

Wazir was elected as an MNA from NA-50 South Waziristan in the 2018 general elections as an independent candidate.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police arrested Wazir from Peshawar on December 16, 2020 on a request from the Sindh police.

He along with several leaders of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), including party chief Manzoor Pashteen and MNA Mohsin Dawar, was booked for hatching a criminal conspiracy and passing derogatory remarks against state institutions during a PTM rally in Karachi.

The FIR included sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 505-B (statements for inducing a person to commit offence against state), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 188 (disobeying order of public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

His bail petition faced several delays.

The apex court has directed the MNA to submit surety bonds worth Rs400,000 in the trial court.

It observed that the co-accused in the case have been granted bail and it was not challenged in the court.

Since the co-accused have been granted bail, there’s no reason to keep Wazir in Jail, the court said.

During the hearing, Justice Sardar Tariq remarked that the state is releasing people after negotiations.

It is possible that tomorrow they strike a deal with Ali Wazir, said Justice Tariq.

People have been martyred, doesn’t law apply there? he said.

The court’s remarks come less than a month after the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was released and the government lifted a ban on his party after an agreement between the government and the TLP following violent protests.

Names of hundreds of party leaders, including that of Saad Rizvi, and workers were removed from the fourth schedule. Over 2,000 TLP activists were freed from jails.

Justice Tariq asked if the courts are left only to reject bail applications.

Justice Jamal Mandokhel questioned that shouldn’t allegations made by Ali Wazir be addressed in Parliament.

“Why are we pushing our own people away?” Justice Mandikhel asked adding that “Ali Wazir’s grievances should have been heard.”

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