MNA Ali Wazir, who has been in jail since late December 2020, has been formally arrested in another sedition case for organising a Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rally where participants were accused of raising ‘anti-state’ slogans.
Wazir was produced before the judge of Anti-Terrorism Court-II on Monday where the investigating officer told the court that Wazir had been arrested for his involvement in a PTM rally held in Karachi in 2019. The judge remanded Wazir in judicial custody until March 4.
The MNA has been held in custody in Central Jail Karachi since December 31, 2020, when he was first arrested for sedition in the provincial capital. Wazir had been granted post-arrest bail by the Supreme Court on November 30, 2021, but an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, ATC-XII, had requested additional verification, stalling his release before his arrest was ordered in another case.
Another request for Wazir’s bail in a separate case was also dismissed earlier this month, after the judge noted that Wazir was not eligible for post-arrest bail in that case because the testimony of two witnesses of the prosecution had already been recorded.
According to Dawn, Wazir faces three separate sedition cases registered in Karachi and a similar case registered against him in Miran Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Meanwhile, the PTM sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly entered its second week, with workers and supporters continuing their demand for Wazir’s release on bail.
