PTM’s Manzoor Pashteen held, sent on 14-day judicial remand PPP demands immediate released

STAFF REPORTER
PESHAWAR Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen was sent to Peshawar’s Central Jail on a 14-day judicial remand by a magistrate hours after he was arrested from the city’s Shaheen Town on Monday. The PTM leader was produced before a magistrate in Judicial Complex, Peshawar, where strict security arrangements were made prior to his arrival. The court will hold a hearing today(Tuesday) to decide whether a transitory remand can be granted in order to move Pashteen to Dera Ismail Khan, where a first information report (FIR) has been registered against him. According to police, a case was registered against the PTM chief at the City Police Station in DI Khan on Jan 18 under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 124 (sedition), and 123-A (condemning the creation of the country and advocating the abolishment of its sovereignty) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The PPP, in a statement on Monday, demanded that Pashteen be released immediately and that a dialogue be initiated between the government and the youth of tribal areas. The statement said that PTM’s demands were “legitimate” and “will not be swept aside by arresting Manzoor Pashteen”.