Pak court grants bail to Pashtun leader Ali Wazir in hate speech case

A provincial court in Pakistan on Wednesday granted bail to prominent Pashtun leader Ali Wazir in connection with a hate speech case.

Wazir, who is the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) lawmaker from South Waziristan, was granted bail by the Sindh High Court (SHC) in a case registered against him in Karachi.

A two-member bench accepted the Pashtun leader's bail plea and asked him to submit a surety bond worth PKR 0.5 million, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

"Sindh High Court has granted bail to @Aliwazirna50 in the Shah Lateef Town case today which is great news for all of us. Ali's bail in one more case is to be heard in ATC tomorrow. We are hoping for the courts to do justice and hope he will be granted bail by the ATC," Pakistani lawmaker Mohsin Dawar said in a tweet.

Wazir was languishing in Karachi central prison since Dec 31, 2020, after he was arrested in connection with two sedition cases registered in the metropolis.

Wazir was arrested in Peshawar on December 16, 2020, at the request of the Sindh police, and flew to Karachi, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Wazir was arrested on the charges of making insulting and incendiary speeches against the state institutions at a PTM protest rally in Karachi on December 6, 2020.

The PTM leader was charged with treason and hate speech against the state. However, Wazir denied such allegations and blamed the state for a biased attitude towards minorities.

( With inputs from ANI )