KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leaders Manzoor Pashteen and Mohsin Javed Dawar in a case related to inflammatory speech and sedition.
During the hearing, the anti-terrorism court approved the interim challan against Pashteen and Dawar which declared the PTM leaders as fugitives. Later, the court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for them and ordered the authorities to arrest and produce the accused till March 9.
According to the police challan, five more arrests were made against those nominated in the case. The arrested persons included Javed, Tahir, Ibrahim, Naimat and Sarwar over allegedly delivering objectionable remarks against the national institutions.
It is pertinent to mention here that the case was registered against PTM’s Ali Wazir and others in the Sohrab Goth police station in Karachi.
Earlier in February, the ATC had ordered to block National Computerized Identity Cards (CNICs) of PTM leaders Pashteen and Dawar. Both Pashteen and Dawar had been declared fugitives in the case, after their continued non-appearance before the court.
The PTM, formerly the Mehsud Tahafuz Movement, gained momentum following the extra-judicial murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi. It sought capital punishment for the prime suspect in the Naqeebullah murder case, former SSP Malir Rao Anwar, recovery of missing persons and removal of landmines in tribal areas.
Late last year, an ATC sent another PTM leader MNA Ali Wazir, and others to jail on judicial remand. Police produced Wazir and others before the ATC in Karachi. The court sent all the accused to jail on judicial remand. The court further directed the investigating officer to submit the challan before the court till the next hearing.
The PTM leader was arrested in Peshawar on December 16 on charges of hate speech against state institutions while addressing a rally in Karachi on December 6, according to police sources.
