Ali Wazir granted bail in another ‘hate speech’ case

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday granted post-arrest bail to Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader and MNA Ali Wazir in a third case pertaining to allegedly delivering speeches against state institutions and sedition.

Wazir has been behind the bars since December 31, 2020 in four cases lodged at the Sohrab Goth, Shah Latif Town, and Boat Basin police stations. He, along with Alam Zaib and Maulana Muhammad Tahir, was charged with violence and making remarks against state institutions and sedition on Jan 20, 2019 in Sohrab Goth.

The ATC-XV judge pronounced the judgment he had reserved after hearing arguments of both the prosecution and defence sides on the application of the lawmaker seeking post-arrest bail. The court directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs500,000 to secure his bail.

Advocate Qadir Khan, who represented the applicant, had argued that two other accused – Alam Zaib and Maulana Tahir – had already been granted bail, and thus, his client was also entitled to such a relief. He contended that no forensic analysis of the recording of Wazir’s speeches had been carried out nor any transcript had been placed on record.

The counsel pleaded with the court to grant post-arrest bail to the lawmaker. The present case against Wazir pertains to organising a rally in Sohrab Goth where he, along with other PTM leaders, allegedly chanted slogans and made speeches to incite the public and defame state institutions.

The MNA has already been granted bail in two cases. On November 30 last year, the Supreme Court granted him post-arrest bail against a surety of Rs400,000 in one case. Later, the Sindh High Court (SHC) approved his bail in another case. He is yet to obtain bail in a fourth case lodged at the Boat Basin police station in 2018.

The cases have been registered against him under 147 (rioting), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed in prosecution of common object), 500 (punishment for defamation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief), and other sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with the Section 7 (Punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.