Pakistan: PTM continue to demand release of Pashtun leader Ali Wazir

The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) continued its sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly on Monday demanding the release of Pashtun leader Ali Wazir.

PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen said the group would continue to stage its protest sit-in till a notification for the release of the lawmaker was issued.

Dozens of PTM supporters demanded the provincial government to discard the FIRs lodged against Wazir and listen to the grievances of the Pashtuns residing in Karachi.

Ali Wazir has spent nearly 14 months in prison for allegedly delivering anti-state speeches in Karachi, The News International newspaper reported.

PTM leaders said the Pakistan Supreme Court had in November last year had allowed Wazir's appeal against the dismissal of his bail plea by the Sindh High Court and granted him post-arrest bail in the Sohrab Goth rally case. "Despite the apex court's orders, Wazir is in jail," said Pashteen.

Wazir was arrested in Peshawar on December 16, 2020, at the request of the Sindh police, and flew to Karachi. Wazir was arrested on the charges of making insulting and incendiary speeches against the state institutions at a PTM protest rally in Karachi on December 6, 2020, according to the newspaper.

The PTM leader was charged for treason and hate speech against the state. However, Wazir denied such allegations and blamed the state for a biased attitude towards minorities.

( With inputs from ANI )

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