PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday granted 45 days’ protective bail to MNA and leader of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), Ali Wazir, for appearance in relevant courts in different cases against him.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed M Attique Shah issued the order over a petition filed by Ali Wazir seeking directives of the court for the government to inform him about the number of cases filed against him and to grant him protective bail.

The bench directed the petitioner to approach the relevant courts within 45 days. Senior advocate Sher Afzal Khan Marwat appeared for the petitioner and stated that his client was charged in several cases under different provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and other laws.

He stated that they came to know that the total number of cases registered against the petitioner were 14 out of which so far they managed to get bail in five, whereas details of other cases were not available.

He contended that his client needed to get protective bail so as to trace the cases registered against him in different areas in the province and to approach the relevant courts in this regard.

He argued that the petitioner was a lawmaker and a law abiding citizen and had regularly been appearing before courts. He added that the petitioner had also been kept behind the bars for over two years on flimsy charges but nothing could be proved against him.

The bench initially observed that 14-day protective/transit bail would be given to the petitioner.

However, Mr Marwat said that 14 days were not enough time as there were many cases and the petitioner had to approach several courts in different areas in this regard.

The bench then decided to allow him 45 days’ time for appearing the relevant courts.

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier Ali Wazir was arrested in Peshawar on Dec 16, 2020, by the local police on the request of Sindh police in connection with an FIR registered against him and other leaders of PTM at Sohrab Goth police station, Karachi, wherein multiple charges were levelled against them.

Subsequently, he was also shown arrested in three other cases registered in Karachi and he remained imprisoned in Karachi jail.

After the petitioner was acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in the initial case in Karachi and was granted bail in three other cases there, his arrest was shown in the FIR registered at Prang police station in Charsadda, wherein he was charged with different offences including sedition.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2023