PESHAWAR: Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was released from prison on Tuesday, after a sessions court in Dera Ismail Khan granted him bail in the fifth and last case against him, his lawyer confirmed to Arab News.
“After spending nearly a month in Central Jail, Dera Ismail Khan, Pashteen has won the legal battle and come out of prison. He was granted bail in all five cases after we submitted three different surety bonds of up to Rs300,000 in court,” said the lawyer, Saeed Akhtar, also a PTM leader.
Pashteen was arrested in Peshawar on Jan. 27 on a number of charges, ranging hate speech to criminal conspiracy and sedition.
Jubilant Pashteen delivered a brief speech to PTM supporters who came to welcome him upon his release.
“We fought a legal battle within the constitutional framework for the release of our leader,” said Abdullah Nangyal, a PTM activist. “We have won today.”
Parliamentarian and PTM member Ali Wazir told Arab News he was certain that Pashteen would soon come out of prison.
“The cases lodged against Pashteen were concocted and groundless. Today is our victory and the victory of law and justice. Our struggle for the supremacy of law will continue,” he said.
PTM campaigns against alleged extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and members of other ethnic minorities.
It emerged in 2018, after the killing of an ethnic Pashtun man by police in the port city of Karachi. The killing led to nationwide protests and turned the issue of alleged state violence against Pashtuns into a national debate.
The Pakistani military accuses the PTM of being funded by foreign states, such as India and Afghanistan. The PTM denies any foreign links.
Many PTM supporters are ethnic Pashtuns who hail originally from areas bordering Afghanistan, which used to be the center point of a long insurgency by Taliban and other militants and subsequent operations by the Pakistani military.
Millions of people from the region have been displaced due to the operations.
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen released from prison
https://arab.news/wuzyr
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen released from prison
- Pashteen was arrested in January on charges ranging from hate speech to sedition
- PTM parliamentarian Ali Wazir says his colleague was imprisoned on false charges
UK announces ‘major reset’ of Pakistan development partnership with new trade, climate, education initiatives
- UK commits to increased investment-led cooperation in climate, business regulation and higher education
- London shifts from aid donor to investment-focused partner as bilateral trade crosses $7.3 billion
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom on Wednesday unveiled what it called a “major reset” in its development partnership with Pakistan, announcing new investment-focused cooperation, education programs and a bilateral climate compact during a visit by UK Minister for Development Jennifer Chapman.
The trip marks the first federal-level development dialogue between the two governments in eight years and reflects London’s shift from a traditional aid-donor role toward investment-based partnerships. The British government said the new approach aims to use UK expertise to help partner economies build capacity and unlock domestic growth.
Pakistan-UK trade has also reached a record high, crossing £5.5 billion ($7.3 billion) for the first time, with more than 200 British firms now active in Pakistan, an increase London says signals growing two-way commercial confidence.
“Pakistan is a crucial partner for the UK. We work together to tackle the drivers behind organized crime and illegal migration, keeping both our countries safer,” Chapman was quoted as saying in a statement by the British High Commission in Islamabad.
“Our strong bilateral trading relationship brings jobs and growth to us both. And we’re working together to tackle climate change, a global threat.”
The minister and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday jointly launched a package of business regulatory reforms aimed at improving Pakistan’s investment climate and making it easier for UK firms to operate. Officials said the initiative supports Pakistan’s economic recovery agenda and creates new commercial avenues for British companies.
A second key announcement was the next phase of the Pak-UK Education Gateway, developed with the British Council and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission. The expanded program will enable joint research between universities in both countries, support climate- and technology-focused academic collaboration, and introduce a startup fund to help commercialize research. The Gateway will also promote UK university courses delivered inside Pakistan, giving students access to British degrees without traveling abroad.
Accompanied by Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik, Chapman also launched a Green Compact, a framework for climate cooperation, green investment, environmental protection and joint work at global climate forums.
The UK emphasized it remains one of Pakistan’s largest development partners, citing ongoing work in education, health, climate resilience and anti-trafficking capacity building.
During the visit to Pakistan, Chapman will meet communities benefiting from UK-supported climate programs, which London says helped 2.5 million Pakistanis adapt to climate impacts in the past year, and observe training of airport officers working to prevent human trafficking.
“We remain firm friends of Pakistan, including in times of crisis, as shown through our floods response,” Chapman said. “And we know to accelerate growth in both our countries, we must work together in partnership to tackle the problems we face.”
