Arrest warrants issued for Achakzai

A judicial magistrate in Quetta has issued arrest warrants for Pashtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai in connection with an FIR registered at Gawalmandi police station in Balochistan’s provincial capital this year over charges of illegal occupation of government land.

Achakzai, who recently emerged as the presidential candidate of the PTI, faced the scrutiny of the district administration when his residence was raided earlier in March this year.

Although he was not present during the raid, the district administration alleged that it reclaimed land, an area of 2.5 kanals encircled by a boundary wall, illegally occupied by the PKMAP chief.

It proceeded to register a case against him under Sections 447 and 448 of the Pakistan Penal Code pertaining to criminal trespass.

Subsequently, the judicial magistrate issued warrants for Achakzai's arrest because he did not appear before the authorities.

Read more: Achakzai proposes panel to address PTI’s concerns

The police have been directed to arrest Achakzai and present him before the court on Saturday (today).

A day earlier, Achakzai held a meeting of the six-party opposition alliance – the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aain (TTA) -- in Islamabad.

The newly formed alliance of which he was elected the head of earlier this month includes his party, the PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami, Sunni Ittehad Council, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, and BNP-M.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, he clarified that the opposition alliance was not cobbled together to spread hatred against any state institution, including the army and intelligence agencies.

“It has been created to save Pakistan because the country is going through its most dangerous period at the moment and it can only be saved from crises through social consensus,” he added.

Reacting to the issuance of arrest warrants, the PkMAP criticised and government and police for what it described as the rulers’ tactics to silence Achakzai. "The PkMAP will continue its democratic struggle despite all odds", the statement issued by the party read.

TTA spokesman Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai also condemned the issuance of the arrest warrants.

In a statement, the TTA spokesman said they wanted to assure those who were using the state machinery for these high-handed tactics against them that these measures would not back them down from their cause.

“Our movement for public sovereignty as well as the supremacy of Constitution and law will carry on,” he added.

The Quetta Bar Association (QBA) has termed the issuance of the arrest warrants against Achakzai “political victimisation”.