MARDAN: Former MNA of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Ali Mohammad Khan was arrested by the anti-corruption establishment here on Friday after an anti-terrorism court granted him bail in a May 9 violence case.

He was named in an FIR registered by the ACE police station in Mardan on May 10 over “irregularities” in the appointments to the fisheries department, officials said.

They said Mr Khan and several other former PTI lawmakers were involved in those appointments, which caused the exchequer a loss of Rs2.35 million.

The Islamabad police arrested Mr Khan in the capital under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance on the orders of the local administration on May 11.

Ali Mohammad says he’ll stand with Imran ‘like a rock’

The Islamabad High Court ordered his release but he was arrested again under the MPO Ordinance on the orders of Rawalpindi’s district administration.

Mr Khan was later shifted to the Peshawar Central Prison as the provincial capital’s deputy commissioner issued orders for his detention under the MPO Ordinance.

He moved the high court, which ordered his release. He was freed from the Peshawar Central Prison on June 8 but was taken into custody by the Mardan police the same day in connection with a case they registered on May 9 against PTI activists over violent protests.

On Friday, the Mardan ATC granted him bail and ordered the police to free him immediately.

The police had sought his 14-day physical remand, but the court rejected the request observing that the records revealed that the accused was not named in the FIR and the violence charge was levelled against him on the basis of hearsay.

“On record, there is no direct or circumstantial evidence to connect the accused [Ali Mohammad] with the offence,” judge Mr Syed Obaidullah Shah declared while accepting the ex-MNA’s plea for bail.

Mr Khan told reporters on the occasion that he didn’t support those involved in the May 9-10 attacks on military installations and riots, but would continue supporting party chief Imran Khan.

“I will stand with Imran Khan like a rock,” he said.

The PTI leader said that he wasn’t opposed to the punishment of violent protesters but believed that his was a major political party and it was unjustified to “sideline” it in light of the May 9-10 violence. He said that the PTI chief had always talked about peaceful political struggles and that he and his workers always stood for the rule of law.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2023