The prosecution has moved to seek cancellation of post-arrest bail granted to former MNA Ali Wazir of outlawed Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) in three cases pertaining to alleged anti-state speeches and sedition.
Wazir was released from Sukkur prison on March 16 after being granted bail by the Sindh High Court in a sedition case. He, however, was again arrested shortly after his release from the jail, according to defence lawyer Qadir Khan.
The prosecution filed separate applications before anti-terrorism courts seeking cancellation of Wazir’s bail in three cases lodged at different police stations. The applications have been filed before the ATC-III, V and VII where these cases are pending.
In one of the applications filed through an assistant prosecutor general, it was stated that the ex-MNA was granted post-arrest bail in a case lodged at the Boat Basin police station on September 13, 2022. “The learned court failed to appreciate the sufficient incriminating material available on record connecting the accused with the commission of the offence,” it said.
The prosecution stated that the ATC ignored the gravity and heinous nature of offences punishable under Sections 124-A (sedition) and Section 7 (acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, adding that the allegations directly impinged upon the sovereignty and integrity of the state as well as public order and tranquility.
“The learned court failed to appreciate that such offences disentitle the accused from the concession of bail,” the application read. It said that the court’s erroneous reliance on delay in lodging of the FIR as the ground for the grant of bail stood sufficiently explained due to the sensitive nature of the offence, and that at bail stage, such delay does not diminish the evidentiary value of the prosecution case.
The prosecution said the court also ignored the fact that the accused was involved in many similar cases and he misused the concession of bail by indulging similar acts by delivering provocative and inflammatory speeches.
“Such conduct demonstrates a pattern of defiance of law and disregard for the conditions implicit in the grant of bail and as such liberty so granted has been converted into a license to perpetuate similar offences.” The courts have been requested to cancel the post-arrest bail granted to Ali Wazir in these cases.
The ATC-V has issued a notice to Wazir’s lawyer to submit his response to the plea on April 14. The ATC-III has adjourned the hearing of the prosecution’s plea till March 31, while ATC-VII until April 2.
