In custody: Bail request of former ANP lawmaker rejected

Qaumi Watan Party leader Arshad Umarzai arrested from the courtroom.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday turned down the bail request of former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) lawmaker Bashir Khan Umarzai and issued arrest warrants for his rival Arshad Umarzai whose pre-arrest bail was also revoked.

Awami National Party (ANP) member Bashir Khan Umarzai is accused of involvement in the murder of former provincial minister and leader of the erstwhile Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao (PPP-S), Alamzeb Umarzai, and two other people in April 2010.

Alamzeb’s family accused Bashir Khan and his sons Shakil Bashir Umarzai, Khalil Bashir Umarzai and Afzal Bashir Umarzai in the FIR filed following the incident. Shakil Bashir was later acquitted while Bashir Khan, Khalil Bashir and Afzal Bashir’s pre-arrest bail applications were turned down last month. They are currently behind bars.

During the hearing on Monday, Bashir Khan’s counsel Barrister Zahoorul Haq requested bail for his client, but PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan turned down the request.

Former provincial minister and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) leader Arshad Umarzai is Alamzeb Umarzai’s brother. Arshad was arrested from the courtroom after Justice Khan refused to accept his pre-arrest bail application.



In an FIR filed by Bashir Khan’s son Khalil Bashir Umarzai, Arshad was accused of targeting their convoy when they were on their way to Charsadda for a hearing on Alamzeb’s murder case on January 12. At least 11 people, including Bashir Khan, were injured when a remote-controlled bomb exploded near their vehicle.

Arshad’s counsel Moazzam Butt informed Justice Khan that since the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack, the accusation on his client was politically motivated. The court, however, cancelled Arshad’s bail that was granted to him on April 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.