PHC stays arrest of Dawar until March 21
PHOTO: EXPRESS
The Peshawar High Court has stayed the arrest of National Democratic Movement (NDM) leader and former National Assembly member Mohsin Dawar in the cases registered against him until March 21, and directed the provincial government to submit a reply on the matter.
The court also sought a detailed report on the cases registered against him.
A two-member PHC bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Waqar Ahmed heard the NDM leader’s writ petition on Monday.
During the hearing, Dawar’s lawyers Yousuf Orakzai and Sangeen Khan Advocate appeared before the court.
In the writ petition, the applicant adopted the stance that he was a former member of the National Assembly.
Dawar asserted that he was protesting against the Feb 8 elections in Miranshah Bazar, which was peaceful. However, he claimed that the law enforcement agencies opened fire on him, which resulted in the deaths of his four colleagues and injuries to three people, including himself.
The NDM leader stated that when the petitioners approached the police to register a case, they were instead named as accused.
Dawar stressed that he was a peaceful citizen and that holding peaceful protest was the right of every citizen. He lamented that their protest was interrupted by gunfire.
Fearing his arrest again, the former MNA expressed his ignorance about the number of cases registered against him. He requested the court to furnish him with the details, asserting that it was his right under Article 19-A.
The petitioner’s lawyers requested the court to stop Dawar’s arrest, saying he was seriously injured.
The court granted a stay on the arrest of the applicant in the cases registered against him until March 21 and directed the provincial government to submit a reply in this regard.
Last month, Dawar and at least 14 of his party activists were injured in the Miranshah area of North Waziristan when police opened fire on them while they were protesting against the delay in election results in NA-40 from where the former MNA was contesting.
In their defence, the police claimed that the NDM supporters opened fire at a security camp in the area and the former lawmaker was injured in the leg after they retaliated.
According to eyewitness reports, the NDM chief and his activists were protesting a two-day delay in the results. The firing began when they were denied entry to the returning officer’s office in Miranshah’s Cantonment area.
There had been conflicting reports about the firing. Official sources claimed that the initiative was taken by the protesters, when they attacked a security camp in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2024.