KARACHI: An antiterrorism court has declared Pashtoon Tahafuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen and his four party leaders proclaimed offenders in a sedition case.

Manzoor Pashteen along with Muhammad Akhtar, Ikramullah, Ahsanullah, Noorullah Tareen, Muhammad Sher Khan, Waheed Khan and M. Idrees have been charged with delivering hate speeches against the security establishment at public meetings ahead of their main rally in Karachi which was to be held on May 13, 2018.

Another PTM leader and sitting MNA Ali Wazir has been booked in three identical cases registered against him in Karachi. He has been kept in the Karachi Central Prison since Dec 31, 2020 after his arrest in two sedition cases registered in the metropolis.

On Wednesday, the ATC-II judge took up two cases when Muhammad Akhtar, Ikramullah and Ahsanullah, who are on bail, appeared in the court.

The investigating officer filed a compliance report regarding execution of non-bailable warrants issued for the arrest of the PTM chief and others by the court on the last date of hearing.

The investigating officer (IO) purportedly informed the court that the PTM chief and other leaders were present in Karachi, where they were currently staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly building for many days.

The judge came down hard on the IO for having failed to arrest the suspects despite their presence in the city and repeated their non-bailable warrants.

The court declared Manzoor Pashteen and four other absconding leaders proclaimed offenders, ordering the authorities concerned to freeze their bank accounts, if any, and Nadra to block their CNICs.

The court also issued perpetual warrants for the arrest of the five men.

The PTM chief was booked in two identical cases registered at the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station under sections 124-A (sedition), 148 (rioting with deadly arms), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 500 (defamation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2022