ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain approved their post-arrest bail, requiring both individuals to provide surety bonds of Rs30,000 each.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-August 28th, 2023) An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has granted bail to human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir in connection with a sedition case.
The case pertained to a controversial speech made against state institutions.
ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain approved their post-arrest bail, requiring both individuals to provide surety bonds of Rs30,000 each.
Imaan and Wazir were taken into custody on August 20 after allegedly delivering the contentious speech during a PTM public rally. On August 19, two first information reports (FIRs) were registered against them at Tarnol police station and Counter-Terrorism Department police station, following the PTM rally in the capital city.
Charges against them include sedition, obstructing the duties of government officials, and causing damage to public property.
During the recent hearing, Prosecutor Raja Naveed stated that over 1,000 people were present during the rally where Imaan criticized state institutions. He mentioned that Imaan accused government officials of treason in her speech, although the USB containing the speech had not yet been received.
In a previous hearing on August 24, Imaan and Wazir were presented before the ATC judge after a three-day physical remand. The prosecutor requested an extension for their remand. The court was informed that voice matching and photogrammetry for Imaan and Wazir had been completed.
The investigating officer mentioned that Imaan received a piece of paper from which she crafted the speech. The officer suggested that further interrogation was needed to determine the origin of the paper.
Judge Zulqarnain emphasized that decisions would be made solely based on justice.
As a result, both Imaan and Wazir were subsequently remanded into a 14-day judicial remand on Thursday.
Regarding the FIRs, the first one pertained to "interference in state affairs." It was filed by Tarnol Station House Officer (SHO) Miam Mohammad Imran, citing violations during the PTM rally. The FIR included charges under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), such as rioting, unlawful assembly, and obstructing public servants.
The second FIR was filed under PPC Sections 124A (sedition), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and 149 (offenses committed by members of an unlawful assembly with a common objective), among others.
