QUETTA: The arrest warrant for Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chairman of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), was suspended by the Quetta-9 judicial magistrate on Saturday.

The warrant was issued just a day earlier by a local court.

Mr Achakzai, who recently ran against President Asif Ali Zardari in the presidential election as the opposition candidate, was implicated in charges of house and criminal trespass, according to an FIR filed at the Gawalmandi police station on March 11.

The charges stem from allegations that he illegally occupied government land and obstructed official duties, incidents reportedly linked to an altercation involving his security guard during a raid on a plot of land across from his residence.

Warrant issued day earlier after PkMAP chief booked for ‘trespass’

The guard was arrested for possessing an AK-47 without a licence.

At the court hearing, Mr Achakzai’s defence, led by Advocate Qari Rehmatullah, argued that the charges were baseless and motivated by political malice.

“Mr Achakzai was not even present in Quetta during the raid, despite being named in the FIR,” Mr Rehmatullah told the court.

“It is possible that a relative or some other family member near his residence occupied the land.”

He noted that Mr Achakzai primarily resides in Islamabad due to his political commitments.

Following these arguments, Judge Kamran Baloch suspended the arrest warrant and postponed further proceedings until May 31.

The lawyer also indicated that Mr Achakzai plans to petition the Balochistan High Court on Monday to get the arrest warrant cancelled.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024