KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi has indicted ten accused including Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Ali Wazir in a case related to anti-state speech.
Ali Wazir, an independent MNA from South Waziristan’s NA-50, and 10 accused have been indicted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi. The lawmaker and prominent Pasthtun Taffahuz Member (PTM) and other accused denied the charges. The court ordered the prosecution to produce the witnesses on November 20.
A case was registered against the accused at Sohrab Goth police station. The accused were facing charges of delivering hate remarks against the state and institutions on December 6, 2020. Another case was registered against MNA Ali Wazir at Shah Latif police station for delivering an anti-state speech.
The PTM leaders had addressed a public gathering of around 2,000 participants at Sohrab Goth on December 6, 2020, in which they had allegedly incited the public against the state and used derogatory language against security forces. Police had arrested Wazir in Peshawar in connection with the case on the request of the Sindh police and had flown him to Karachi.
Wazir is in judicial custody while 10 of his alleged accomplices are on bail. The suspects include Javed Raheem, Sher Ayub Khan, Noorullah Tareen, Naimatullah alias Adil Shah, Ibrahim Khan, Muhammad Sher Khan, Baseerullah, Muhammad Tahir alias Qazi Tahir, Muhammad Sarwar and Ahsanullah
Ali Wazir had been brought to Karachi via a special flight on December 18 last year after he was arrested by the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for a case in Sindh. He had allegedly delivered anti-state remarks which compromised the stature of the national armed forces, according to the police case.
KP police had arrested Ali Wazir on a complaint by Sindh home department. Karachi police had also arrested a central organiser of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) from Sohrab Goth area of the city in the case.
PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen, MNA Mohsin Dawar, and two others have been declared proclaimed offenders in a case related to sedition and the usage of provocative language against state institutions.
