Pakistan: Pashtun leader Manzoor Pashteen gets post-arrest bail

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 2 : The session court in Islamabad approved the post-arrest bail of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen on Tuesday in the Tarnol police station case, ARY News reported.
The federal capital police -- after completing the judicial remand -- presented the PTM chief before the senior civil judge Shabbir Bhatti's court, where the court, after hearing the argument, approved the post-arrest bail of Pashteen.
The court was directed to submit a surety bond of 5000 Pakistani rupees (PKR) against the bail, meanwhile, the police and the prosecutor submitted the record of the case in the court.
It is pertinent to mention here that a trial court in the federal capital has rejected the police's request for further remand of the PTM leader and has ordered the PTM chief to be placed in judicial custody on December 31, ARY News reported.
Manzoor Pashteen, who founded PTM in 2014, advocates for the rights of Pashtuns, who are affected by Pakistan's war against the Taliban and its local affiliate, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The PTM has also been raising its voice for the Baloch, who have been facing similar atrocities at the hands of the security agencies, according to Express Tribune.
In another hearing on December 7, the ATC in Islamabad handed over Manzoor Pashteen to Islamabad police on a seven-day physical remand against a case registered in Tarnool police station.
He was produced before Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Abul Hasanat Muhammad Zulqarnain on Thursday morning, where the Islamabad Police sought his physical remand.
During the hearing, Pashteen's lawyer opposed the physical remand request. He said that Manzoor Pashteen was "abducted" from Balochistan and three days later he was produced in court today.
The lawyer told the court that Manzoor Pashteen's car was also "fired" upon in Balochistan.
After hearing the arguments, the court handed over Pashteen to the police on a seven-day physical remand and ordered the police to produce him again on December 14, ARY News reported.
Earlier this month, Pashtuns in Pakistan held protests against the detention of the chairman of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Manzoor Pashteen. The protesters in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces had blocked the roads to raise their protest against the arrest of a Pashtun leader and human rights activist.
Police claimed that Pashteen was arrested after officers were reportedly fired upon his vehicle, The Express Tribune reported. Furthermore, he was arrested for breaching a ban preventing his entry into Balochistan. However, the PTM accused law enforcement of firing at Pashteen's vehicle, according to The Express Tribune.