The Supreme Court of Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday granted bail to Alamzeb Mehsud, a rights activist and founding member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM).
Mehsud was granted bail against a surety bond of Rs500,000 by a three-member SC bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar.
The PTM leader had been in custody since January 21 when he was arrested in Karachi on charges of rioting and inciting hatred at a protest near Sohrab Goth.
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During Monday's hearing, the court asked Mehsud's lawyer whether a forensic audit had been conducted of a video that purportedly shows the PTM leader delivering an allegedly anti-state and anti-military speech.
His lawyer informed the SC bench that no such video had ever been found. Moreover, the prosecution lawyer told the court that no date had yet been fixed for a trial.
The SC bench then accepted Mehsud's plea for bail and announced its verdict in his favour.
Mehsud had addressed a rally organised by the PTM in Karachi on January 20. A day later, a case was registered on behalf of the state against 16 PTM leaders and over 200 workers for allegedly using provocative language against state institutions.
The police report named Mehsud and 15 others, including MNA Ali Wazir who was eventually arrested in May following a clash between PTM supporters and army troops in North Waziristan.
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