PESHAWAR: A single-member Peshawar High Court bench on Monday issued notices to social activist Gulalai Ismail and lawyer Fazal Khan seeking their response to two provincial government petitions for the cancellation of their pre-arrest bail in a case of an ‘anti-state’ public meeting.

Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth also sought records of the case registered at the Swabi police station on Aug 13, 2018.

The two petitions were filed by provincial advocate general on behalf of the state, requesting the court to accept the bail cancellation petitions and set aside the impugned orders of an additional district and sessions judge of Swabi to grant pre-arrest bail to the two suspects on Oct 25 in a case about their participation in a public meeting, where ‘anti-state’ slogans were shouted.

Date of the next hearing will be fixed later.

PHC seeks record of case registered in Swabi

The case was registered under Pakistan Penal Code Section 123-B (defiling or unauthorised removal of the national flag), Section 131 (abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from duty), Section 147 (rioting), Section 149 (unlawful assembly), Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), and Section 34 (common intention).

Gulalai Ismail, who heads an organisation, Aware Girls, and has received several international awards, and lawyer Fazal Khan, whose son was martyred in the 2014 Army Public School militant attack, have been named in the FIR.

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leader Manzoor Pashteen and MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir have also been nominated in the case.

Additional advocate general Waqar Ahmad Khan, who appeared for the government, insisted that the two suspects and other PTM members had arranged a procession at Swabi Ground, where some assembly members had delivered provocative speeches and torn apart Pakistani flag.

He added that the members used abusive language against different state institutions.

Mr Waqar claimed that there was sufficient evidence on record to connect the two with the commission of the offence.

The two respondents had contended before the subordinate court that the FIR was registered on the basis of mala fide intentions as none of the allegations leveled in it against them and others were based on facts.

They had added that they were not directly charged in the FIR and were charged in the case later through a supplementary statement without recording any statement of any of the witness.

BAIL GRANTED: Justice Abdul Shakoor of another high court single-member bench granted bail to a man arrested on the charge of attacking the house of a man, who declined to pay him extortion.

Petitioner Liaqat Shah, a resident of Dargai area in Malakand division, had allegedly demanded extortion from a resident of Mandani area in Charsadda, Fayyaz Khan.

The police had alleged that when Fayyaz had declined to pay extortion, he had indiscriminately fired bullets at his house damaging it.

Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, lawyer for the petitioner, said there was no evidence on record against his client, who was falsely implicated in the case.

He said the statements of different prosecution witnesses were also in conflict with each other.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2019