Police have registered a fourth First Information Report (FIR) against Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader and former Member of National Assembly (MNA) Ali Wazir, alleging that he was carrying a Kalashnikov and committing dacoity in Shikarpur.
His lawyer has termed it as highly incomprehensible.
Ali Wazir’s legal representative, Advocate Imdad Haider Solangi, told the media on Tuesday that the latest case was registered at the behest of state institutions. “This allegation raises serious questions and seems deeply incomprehensible. This course of action is highly disturbing,” he said.
“An elected Member of the National Assembly, whose detention was declared illegal by the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad Bench, and who was ordered to be released on March 10, 2026, was re-arrested on March 16, 2026 — within hours of his release. Since then, several FIRs have been registered against him, and now there is reportedly a fourth case,” Soling said.
On Tuesday, the minister was also produced before the court of District and Sessions Judge Dadu, Mr. Zahid Hussain Metlow, under tight security, in connection with Sessions Case No. 150/2026. The case arose out of FIR No. 40/2026, registered at Police Station B Section Dadu under Sections 324, 341, 353, 186, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Proceedings were scheduled for framing of charges. However, the case was adjourned till May 5, 2026, as the sessions judge was on leave.
The minister was brought to the court in handcuffs, guarded by heavy security personnel. A large number of his political supporters and workers had gathered in the premises and despite the restrictions, the minister briefly acknowledged his presence by waving his handcuffed hands – a moment that drew an emotional response from the crowd.
Solangi further said that the Circuit Court of the Sindh High Court in Hyderabad, through its order dated April 22, 2026, dismissed the constitutional petition filed by the minister. The court observed that the challans – the formal charge sheets – had already been submitted before the competent trial courts in all the FIRs in question, and consequently held that it no longer had jurisdiction to interfere in matters falling within the jurisdiction of the trial courts, including quashing the FIRs.
The High Court further said that such issues are related to the merits of the case, to be decided by the trial court after recording the evidence. The minister’s legal team was accordingly directed to seek appropriate relief before the trial court – including by way of an application under Section 265-K of the Code of Criminal Procedure for acquittal, if so advised.
Ali Wazir has been in custody since March 16.
Wazir has been in custody since March 16 – the same day the Sindh High Court ordered his release from Sukkur Central Jail. According to his legal team, he was returning home with his family and friends in the evening when a large contingent of police and plainclothes law enforcement officials arrived in government vehicles and forcibly detained him. Mobile phones were confiscated, people present were assaulted, and family members were allegedly warned not to approach any court.
His whereabouts remained unknown for two days. A habeas corpus petition was filed before the District Judge Sukkur on March 18, followed by a constitutional petition before the Sindh High Court the next day. The minister was eventually produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Naushahro Feroze on March 19 and sent to Dadu Jail on judicial remand. He has since been implicated in three FIRs – and now a reported fourth – which his legal team describes as “false, bogus, and fabricated.”
The Pashtun rights leader and former legislative minister has been recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. His lawyer says the mounting cases against him represent a pattern of conduct that raises serious concerns about due process and the rule of law – and risks undermining public trust in Pakistan’s constitutional and legal institutions.
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