KARACHI: South Waz­ir­istan MNA Ali Wazir was released from Kara­chi’s Central Jail on Tues­day after more than two years of imprisonment.

Mr Wazir — who had been jailed in Karachi since Dec 31, 2020, after being arrested in various sedition cases — was relea­sed after a court granted him bail in the final case registered against him, his lawyer Advocate Qadir Khan confirmed.

The lawyer recalled that Mr Wazir — a lawmaker from Wana, the largest town in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa’s South Waziristan district — had been languishing in jail for a long time, and whenever he was acquitted or granted bail in one case, he was booked in another case in Sindh or KP.

The MNA had been acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in one case and granted bail in three others registered against him in Karachi.

Similarly, three cases were registered against Mr Wazir in KP, of which he had got bail in two cases earlier and was granted bail in the third case on Tuesday.

Pashtun Tahaffuz Move­ment leader Mohammed Sher said activists belonging to his party and

the Mohsin Dawar-led National Democratic Movement had arranged a reception at Sohrab Goth in honour of Mr Wazir later in the day.

MNA Dawar then shared a picture of Mr Wazir on Twitter after his release from Karachi’s Central Jail.

Earlier, he tweeted Mr Wazir’s release order and said, “Very happy for [Ali Wazir] who will finally be released today after spending more than two years in jail. Every attempt was made to break Ali’s spirit and to keep him in jail but he has prevailed. Justice cannot be denied forever.”

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2023