MNA Ali Wazir released from Karachi jail after more than 2 years

South Waziristan MNA and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir was released from Karachi’s Central Jail on Tuesday after being incarcerated for more than two years.

The lawmaker had been jailed in Karachi since December 31, 2020 after being arrested in various sedition cases.

Wazir’s lawyer Advocate Qadir Khan confirmed the development to Dawn.com, saying that his client had been released after a court granted him bail in the final case registered against him.

Khan said Wazir was now on his way to Sohrab Goth where the PTM had arranged a reception in his honour. The advocate said that the lawmaker had been arrested 26 months ago and had been languishing in prison ever since.

He said that whenever his client was acquitted or granted bail in one case, he was booked in another in either Sindh or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Khan pointed out that Wazir had been acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in one case and granted bail in three others registered against him in Karachi.

He further said that three cases were registered against the lawmaker in KP. He said Wazir had been granted bail in two of the cases earlier and had obtained bail in the third one today.

‘Justice cannot be denied forever’

MNA Mohsin Dawar shared a picture of Wazir after his release from Karachi’s Central Jail.

He earlier said that he was “very happy” for the long-incarcerated MNA finally being released. “Every attempt was made to break Ali’s spirit and to keep him in jail but he has prevailed. Justice cannot be denied forever,” he said on Twitter.

The National Commission for Human Rights said it was “heartened” to hear news of Wazir’s release. The commission also shared a picture of the statement it released in June 2022 expressing concern over the “humiliating treatment” being meted out to the MNA.

PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen also welcomed the news. “The cruel system has turned our society into a prison, so congratulations on being released from a small prison to a big prison. We will also break the chains of the bigger prison through resistance,” he said.

Former PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said it was a “positive” development.

“Even detention and difficulties could not break his resolve. Where his detention exposed the constraints of this system, can we imagine that our establishment no longer wants to bear the burden of past mistakes? I wish it was so.”

“Ali Wazir [I] am so happy for you,” said Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan.

Senior journalist Mubashir Zaidi also appreciated the development. “Long live civilian supremacy!” he tweeted.