PTI leader and former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai was on Friday declared an absconder by a Shangla court in a case related to the alleged violation of Section 144.

The Shangla administration had imposed Section 144 in August in the wake of riots after former premier Imran Khan’s arrest. The ban was imposed again from November 3 till December 5.

The case was registered on November 21 against his Shaukat’s brother Liaqat Yousafzai and six others for holding a PTI party meeting despite the ban a man on public gatherings.

The FIR invokes section 109 (Punishment of abetment, if the act abetted, is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), section 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), section 187 (Omission to assist public servant when bound by law to give assistance), section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and section 147 (Punishment for rioting).

Islamzada, a PTI spokesperson, had confirmed to Dawn on November 22 that the party had organised a meeting in preparations for the coming elections at the hujra of Alpuri tehsil Nazim Waqar Ahmad Khan, and party president Liaqat and others were going to attend it when their jeep was stopped by the Karora police officials and they were taken into custody.

He deplored that roads were blocked to arrest the PTI leaders and workers, while PML-N held a public meeting in the Chakesar area the same day.

On Friday, according to an order given by the magistrate court in Shangla District, Shaukat was declared an absconder after the police carried out numerous raids to arrest the former provincial minister.

Shangla police were in Peshawar to arrest the PTI leader during intraparty elections and after they were unable to located him, sections 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), and 506 were added to the FIR.

While speaking to Dawn.com, Liaqat said that the Election Commission of Pakistan failed to provide a level playing field to PTI and the police were using force to stop them from entering Shangla.