KARACHI: An antiterrorism court reserved on Monday its order on the bail application of interned Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) MNA Ali Wazir in a four-year-old ‘defamation and sedition’ case.

MNA Wazir, who is incarcerated in the Karachi central prison since Dec 31, 2020, has been booked for allegedly delivering a speech and inciting the pubic against state institutions, defaming them and sedition in Boat Basin in 2018.

On Monday, the judge of the ATC-XII, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, fixed Tuesday (today) for pronouncement of his order on the bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides.

The apex court had granted post-arrest bail to Ali Wazir against a surety of Rs400,000, while allowing his appeal against the Sindh High Court’s order of denying him bail. However, he still remains behind bars since he is facing trial in three sedition-related cases registered at the Sohrab Goth, Shah Latif Town and Boat Basin police stations.

The FIRs were lodged under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, if rioting be committed; if not committed), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups etc), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 505 (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on behalf of the state.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2022