Wazir remanded in police custody again

A trial court in Islamabad on Sunday remanded former lawmaker Ali Wazir in police custody for one day in connection with a case registered at the federal capital’s Bhara Kahu Police Station under the country’s anti-terrorism law.

This is the third case in which the former parliamentarian has been booked along with dozens of others including human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari in the wake of a Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rally held on August 18.

On Sunday, September 3, authorities presented Ali Wazir in a district and sessions court where a duty magistrate, Shahzad Khan, was presiding over the hearing.

During the argument, the prosecution requested Wazir’s custody from the court, contending it needed to interrogate the former MP. The judge accepted the request and remanded him in custody for one day. Wazir will be presented in the relevant court on Monday.

A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad granted post-arrest bail to Imaan Mazari, while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) simultaneously prohibited local authorities from arresting her in any new cases. Imaan Mazari was already on bail in a sedition and rioting case.

The police had initially arrested the rights activist and Wazir on August 20, alleging interference in state affairs during the PTM rally. Subsequently, they were charged, along with dozens of others under the country’s sedition law for allegedly inciting rebellion through their speech at the rally.

Imaan was rearrested on August 28 in a terror case, barely hours after being granted bail in the sedition case. The ATC, on Friday, ordered authorities to detain Imaan in a women's police station until her bail application hearing and remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days.