March 19, 2026
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Former parliamentarian and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Ali Wazir was produced before an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Naushehro Feroze district on Thursday, two days after he went missing following his re-arrest in Sukkur, his counsel Imdad Hyder Solangi confirmed to Voicepk. The court subsequently ordered Wazir’s transfer to the district jail in Dadu on judicial remand.
Wazir had been re-arrested late on the night of March 16 — hours after the Sindh High Court had granted him bail — in what his legal team described as an illegal and unconstitutional abduction. His whereabouts remained unknown for two days, prompting urgent legal petitions and an international appeal.
Fresh FIR and terrorism charges
A new first information report (FIR No. 93/2026) was registered against Wazir at A Section Police Station in Dadu. According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with Voicepk, complainant ASI Nazar Ali Laghari states that on March 16, he received intelligence from an informant that a group of individuals was blocking a road while carrying PTM flags and weapons and chanting slogans against Pakistan and the Pakistan Army.
Laghari further states in the FIR that those individuals claimed to be acting on Wazir’s instructions — allegedly told to create such widespread disruption that authorities would be deterred from arresting him again after his release. The complainant adds that when police moved to disperse the crowd, the accused opened fire before fleeing the scene.
Petitions for recovery
Following his release from Sukkur Central Prison on March 16, Wazir had attended an iftar dinner at a friend’s home when a large contingent of police and plainclothes law enforcement officials, arriving in five or six private and government vehicles, forcibly entered the premises. Those present, including Wazir, were subjected to mistreatment before he was bundled into a Vigo pickup truck and driven away. The incident was captured on video and subsequently circulated widely on social media.
His driver and close aide, Badshah Pashteen, stated that upon approaching the ABAD police station immediately after the incident, the SHO on duty denied having custody of Wazir. Relatives and friends made every effort to trace his whereabouts and contacted senior police officials, but were denied access to any information.
Pashteen, acting as petitioner, filed a habeas corpus petition before the District and Sessions Judge in Sukkur on March 18, seeking his recovery. The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Sukkur, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukkur, and the Station House Officer (SHO) of the ABAD police station have been named as respondents. Solangi confirmed that notices to the respondents are expected to be issued shortly, with the petition to be heard after the Eid vacations.
Separately, Solangi filed a constitutional petition — bearing No. D-510/2026 — before the Constitutional Bench of the Sindh High Court in Sukkur, comprising Justices Amjid Bohio and Ali Hyder Ada on Thursday. The petition names the Federation of Pakistan through the Secretary, Ministry of Interior, as a respondent, and seeks relief against what it describes as Wazir’s “illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional abduction and enforced disappearance.”
Solangi also wrote to the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, urging immediate intervention. In his letter, he stated that Wazir was “lawfully released on 16.03.2026 pursuant to the orders of the Honourable Sindh High Court,” but was “allegedly picked up and abducted by officials of Sukkur Police in collusion with other law enforcement agencies” the same night. He called his continued detention “a serious violation of fundamental human rights guaranteed under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, including the right to life, liberty, due process and dignity.”
Solangi also noted that authorities had failed to inform any of Wazir’s relatives or legal counsel of his arrest — a requirement under Section 59-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 — calling it “a blatant disregard for the law.”
A prolonged legal ordeal
Wazir’s release on March 16 had marked what many hoped would be the end of a prolonged legal ordeal. His most recent period of incarceration had begun in August 2024. Despite being granted bail in his final active case — a cybercrime matter — on March 10, bureaucratic delays kept him behind bars for an additional week.
The constitutional bench of the Sindh High Court, headed by Justices Arbab Ali Hakro and Riazat Ali Sehar, ultimately ruled that holding Wazir without a pending trial or investigation violated Article 9 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to personal liberty, declaring his detention “illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional.”
His legal representatives had described his journey through the justice system as a “relentless cycle” of arrests. Since 2024, Wazir faced multiple charges and at least three Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) detention orders spanning Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad, and Balochistan. Each time a court granted him bail or struck down a detention order, his legal team noted, a new order would be issued by a different district administration to keep him in custody.
Health concerns mount
Wazir’s health condition has added further urgency to the situation. He suffers from several serious ailments — high blood pressure, diabetes, a chronic heart condition, and kidney disease — and requires continuous access to prescribed medication. Supporters and family members have alleged that he was denied regular medical check-ups during his nearly two-year incarceration. With his current location having remained unknown for two days, his legal team and relatives have expressed alarm over the immediate risk to his life.
Solangi underscored this in his letter to the UN Human Rights Commissioner, warning that Wazir’s “illegal detention without access to proper treatment exposes him to serious and imminent risk to his life.”
HRCP sounds the alarm
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed grave concern over what it described as the illegal detention and reported abduction of Wazir. In a post on X, HRCP stated that plainclothes law enforcement personnel had “forcibly abducted” Wazir shortly after his release on bail on March 16. “Two days later, his whereabouts remain unknown, raising serious fears for his life and health,” it said, urging authorities to produce Wazir before a court immediately and hold those responsible accountable under the law.