KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Wednesday declared the chief of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen, Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar and two others as proclaimed offenders in a case pertaining to alleged sedition and making speeches against state institutions in Karachi.

Police had booked Pashteen, Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar, Muhammad Shafi and Hidayatullah Pashteen on charges of sedition, inciting the public to wage war against the state and used derogatory language against security forces at a rally held in Sohrab Goth on December 6, 2020.

On Wednesday, when the matter came up before the ATC-XII judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, interned MNA Ali Wazir was produced from prison while others appeared in court on bail.

The investigating officer filed a report stating that in compliance of the court’s directives efforts were made to arrest absconding suspects Pashteen, MNA Dawar, Shafi and Hidayatullah, but they could not be traced till date.

Police say the whereabouts of absconding PTM leaders are not known

He submitted the process of proclamation under Section 87 (proclamation of person absconding) of the criminal procedure code (CrPC) had been completed and there was no likelihood of their arrest in the near future.

The mukhtiarkars of Karachi’s Baldia and Saddar sub-divisions and deputy commissioners of Peshawar and South Waziristan also filed their reports regarding completion of the process of attachment of movable or immovable properties, if any, owned/possessed by the four absconding PTM leaders.

The revenue officers stated that the process to trace their properties, as required under Section 88 of the CrPC had been completed and it was found that none of them own/possess any movable or immovable property in Karachi, Peshawar and South Waziristan.

In view of the report of the IO, the judge ordered: “Therefore, these accused persons as named above are hereby declared as proclaimed offender in this case.”

The court directed the office to keep the case against the proclaimed offenders on dormant till their arrest or surrender.

The judge also took the reports of the revenue officers on record.

In June this year, the court had ordered initiating the process of proclamation and attachment of the suspects’ properties after the IO had declared the four men as untraceable.

According to the prosecution, the PTM leaders addressed a public gathering of around 2,000 participants at Sohrab Goth on Dec 6, 2020 in which they allegedly incited public against the state and used derogatory language against security forces.

Police had arrested MNA Wazir in Peshawar in connection with the case on a request of the Sindh police and brought him to Karachi. Currently, he is in judicial custody.

Ten other suspects — Javed Raheem, Sher Ayub Khan, Noorullah Tareen, Naimatullah alias Adil Shah, Ibrahim Khan, Muhammad Sher Khan, Baseerullah, Muhammad Tahir alias Qazi Tahir, Muhammad Sarwar and Ahsanullah — are on bail.

In a charge sheet filed earlier, the IO had mentioned that under the purview of the investigation, statements of the witnesses and video footage of the rally the nominated suspects were found involved in committing offences punishable under Sections 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable under Section 121), 124-A (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2021