KOHAT: The district police today (Friday) released Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen after keeping him in detention for almost eight hours, according to leaders.
Kohat District Police Officer Sohail Khalid has also confirmed Pashteen’s release, saying he was kept in police custody for a short period. Talking to a private newspaper, PTM leader Ihtesham Afghan said, “We have just received information from Kohat that police officials have released the PTM chief and others.”
Pashteen was on his way to Jani Khel where Malik Naseeb Khan, former head of the security committee and a tribal elder, was killed in a militant attack. Pashteen had expressed over the killing and said the PTM would support them.
PTM activists Bilal Pakhtun, Idrees Pashteen and Zohaib were also reportedly taken into custody while police have not commented on the arrests.
Earlier in March, police had booked Pashteen and three of his friends under the treason charge allegedly for raising slogans against Pakistan and state institutions.
The PTM chief was booked in multiple cases of sedition and was also arrested last year. The arrest was made after he had addressed a gathering in Dera Ismail Khan, where he had allegedly said the 1973 Constitution violated basic human rights and made derogatory remarks about the state.
