Two senior members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Pakhtunwa assembly have been released from a Pakistani jail late on Friday, media reported on Saturday.
Lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar had been arrested by the Pakistani military during a peaceful rally in Waziristan three months back.
As they rallied for getting Pakhtuns’ their rights, the security forces opened fire at them and alleged the protestors were aiding terrorists.
Both parliamentarians could have been released under the law if the National Assembly speaker had ordered their participation in house proceedings. But they were deprived of their right.
Three days ago, a court approved the bail application of Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar. They were released on Friday night from a prison in Peshawar.
Tariq Afghan, PTM members’ defense lawyer, criticized the court order that both should go to the police office in their district every week.
He said it was a strange and unprecedented decision. The lawyer suggested they would appeal to the Supreme Court against the verdict.
PTM advocates for the rights of Pashtuns, especially those forcefully disappeared by Pakistani military. Tens of thousands of Pashtuns from tribal areas and Pakhtunwa have been forcefully disappeared during the past few years. The movement has become a ray of hope for depressed Pashtuns, though its activities have been affected by the comprehension of Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar.
After his release from prison, Dawar wrote on his verified twitter handle that Pakistan pressure will not deter them from the struggle for the right of their people.
“All of this will not deter us from our goal, which is to win peace & equal rights for our ppl & it will also not deter us from our path, which is the path of non-violence,” he said.
He said that the Pakistani government behaved them as terrorists.
“From May to Sep we were kept first at Peshawar jail & then at Haripur. During this transition the State decided to further increase its pressure as in Haripur we were kept in cells marked for terrorists. There was no mobility in jail, we had no access to news & other facilities,” he claimed.
