After nearly 80 days of incarceration, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former state minister Ali Muhammad Khan was released from the Mardan Central Jail on Thursday on the orders of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
Quoting his lawyer, Shehryar Khattak, the media reported that the PTI leader was arrested eight times.
Ali was first taken into custody by the Rawalpindi-Islamabad police on May 11 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) after countrywide protests broke out following the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan in a graft case.
Later, he was arrested by the Peshawar and Mardan police. The anti-corruption establishment had registered two cases against him in Mardan. Ali secured bail in both the cases.
Read more: PHC orders Ali Muhammad Khan's release
Khattak said his client was granted bail in a corruption case by a Peshawar sessions court on Wednesday against surety bonds of Rs200,000.
However, immediately after his release, Ali was again taken into custody for the seventh time under 3MPO for one week on the orders of the Mardan deputy commissioner.
The PTI leader’s lawyers challenged the deputy commissioner’s order in the PHC.
The court while ordering his release expressed displeasure over Ali’s arrest under 3MPO.
“If one deputy commissioner is punished for indulging in illegal activities, it will be a lesson for others,” the court remarked.
The PHC then summoned the deputy commissioner on Aug 8 and adjourned the hearing.
After his release, Ali left the jail without talking to the media or the PTI supporters.
One of the PTI leaders present on the spot maintained that Ali was asked by the deputy commissioner through his lawyers to avoid interacting with the media and the party workers.
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