MARDAN: Central leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Ali Moha­mmad Khan was remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday after a magistrate rejected the plea of anti-corruption establishment (ACE) officials for seeking his 14-day physical remand.

The former minister was arrested for the sixth time on Tuesday in yet another corruption case shortly after being released by a special court from Mardan jail.

On Wednesday when officials produced him before the judicial magistrate to seek physical remand, the court rejected the request and sent the PTO leader to prison on judicial remand.The PTI leader was taken into custody by ACE officials in a case registered against him on June 26, only four days ago the government had informed Peshawar High Court that there was no case against him.

According to the fresh allegations, the former minister of state and several other former lawmakers committed irregularities by awarding contracts in developmental schemes to their ‘favorites’.

The PTI central leader was earlier granted bail by senior special judge of the anti-corruption court Babar Ali Khan on surety bonds of Rs80,000 in a case against him and other former legislators of the party from Mardanfor ‘illegal appointments’ in the fisheries department.

“Ali Mohammad, who is in Mardan prison, was again taken into custody by the anti-corruption officials after he was released in accordance with the order of the court,” his counsel Ali Zaman said, adding that the government had made a mockery of the law.

Four days ago the government had informed the PHC about no other case pending against his client, yet the new case was registered after the ACE realized he would be released for ‘want of evidence’.

Earlier in May, Ali Mohammad was arrested in Islamabad under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance on the order of Islamabad’s deputy commissioner. He was set free on Islamabad High Court’s order before being re-arrested on order of Rawalpindi’s deputy commissioner under the MPO. Later, he was arrested again on Peshawar deputy commissioner’s order under the MPO and then by the Mardan counterterrorism department of police in connection with the May 9 violence case.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2023