Gulalai Ismail's father released on bail

Muhammad Ismail was arrested for allegedly spreading hate of the state on social media

PESHAWAR: The father of a activist Gulalai Ismail who fled to the United States was released on bail on Tuesday, his family and lawyers said, a month after he was arrested for allegedly spreading hate of the state on social media.

Muhammad Ismail was detained on October 24 after leaving a court in Peshawar. He is accused of uploading material to his Facebook page "prejudicial to the interests of the State institutions", according to a court document seen.

He was freed after posting bail of Rs100,000, according to a court document.

32-year-old Gulalai, who went into hiding earlier this year and surfaced in the US in September, said she would not give up her activism despite the arrest.

"(If) the purpose is to coerce me into silence then it won't happen. Neither I would, nor my parents will let me," she said.

Because not every citizen is equal in this country, some are children of a lesser god. The purpose is to coerce me into silence then it won't happen. Neither I would, nor my parents will let me. https://t.co/HOtKUxZKEl

— Gulalai Ismail ګلالۍاسماعیل (@Gulalai_Ismail) November 26, 2019

A top US government official had previously expressed concern about harassment faced by Ismail's family, and rights group Amnesty International has called the charges against her father "trumped up".