SWABI: Nine leaders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), including a retired colonel, were released on bail by a local court here on Tuesday.

Nineteen people, including PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen, had been booked by the district administration for several offences after their controversial public meeting held at a government high school playground on Aug 13.

The FIR against them was registered at the Swabi city police station.

District administration officials said the PTM leaders had been allowed to hold the meeting at Shahmansoor Cricket Stadium, but they violated rules and intentionally arranged the gathering at the school playground.

However, the PTM leaders said that when they got the information from the district administration about the venue of the public meeting it was too late to shift it from the school playground and the circumstances had forced them to hold the gathering at the earlier announced venue.

Gulalai Ismail, a well-known Pakhtun female activist and head of Peshawar-based Aware Girls, a non-governmental organisation, was among those booked. She was arrested and released by the Federal Investigation Agency at the Islamabad airport on her return from London on Oct 12.

She had also secured an interim bail from a local court and the hearing of her case has been fixed for Oct 18.

The nine PTM leaders released on bail by the additional session judge-2 are: Liaqat Yousafzai, Dr Mushtaq, Faiz Mohammad, Khairul Amin, Abidullah, Mohammad Ali Dagiwal, Dr Mohammad Jasim, Riaz Ahmad and retired Col Hidayatullah Ali.

Addressing a gathering at Karnal Sher Khan Chowk in the district headquarters after their release, they said they were patriotic people and never ever thought of acting against their beloved country, Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018