March 10, 2026
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
A constitutional bench of the Sindh High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Ali Wazir, the incarcerated former member of the National Assembly and leader of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), in a case related to allegedly spreading anti-state content on social media.
The ruling clears what his legal team described as the last active case against him — though they are already bracing for fresh attempts to keep him behind bars.
The two-member bench at Hyderabad, comprising Justice Arbab Ali and Justice Riyazat Ali Sahar, heard arguments from Wazir’s counsel, Imdad Haider Solangi, before approving his release on submission of Rs 50,000 surety bonds. According to Solangi, Wazir is expected to walk free from Sukkur Jail on Wednesday, once bail bonds are submitted to court officials in Hyderabad and a release order is relayed to jail authorities.
“In three cases, Ali Wazir was acquitted in the trial proceedings, while the NCCIA had absolved Ali Wazir of any offence in the fourth case,” Imdad Haider Solangi, Ali Wazir’s counsel, told Voicepk.
At the hearing, officials from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), the Federal Investigation Agency, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Assistant Advocate General of Sindh were all present.
The court asked whether any of them had objections to Wazir’s release under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), given that the NCCIA’s own inquiry report had found no offence established against him.
The officials argued that Wazir was still wanted in cases registered in other provinces. The bench rejected the objection and ordered his release. The decision came as a culmination of a legal process that began at the previous hearing on March 3, when the NCCIA formally submitted its findings clearing Wazir of all cybercrime allegations — a development his defence team called long overdue.
No legal grounds left but fears remain
Despite the court’s order, Solangi said he was not fully at ease. He expressed concern that authorities might file new cases against Wazir to obstruct his release — a pattern, he suggested, that had become a hallmark of the state’s handling of the PTM leader’s detention. “There were no legal grounds left to keep him behind bars,” Imdad Haider Solangi said.
He also flagged the earlier delay by the NCCIA in processing its own report. At the March 3 hearing, after the Deputy Attorney General confirmed no PECA offence had been established, Solangi had challenged the decision to forward the report to a senior NCCIA official for a ‘final order’ — a step he described as legally unjustified. He alleged the agency was deliberately prolonging Wazir’s detention and called on the court to intervene. The court accepted his request, adjourning proceedings until March 10 and ordering senior jail and NCCIA officials to appear in person.
A months-long ordeal across four provinces
Wazir’s detention saga began on August 4, 2024, when Islamabad Police arrested him in connection with a road accident. Authorities subsequently filed an anti-terrorism case against him. Although the Islamabad High Court granted him bail in September 2024, he was not released.
Instead, the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner issued a detention order under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance, which allows authorities to detain a person for up to 90 days without filing an FIR if they believe the individual poses a threat to public safety or order.
Badshah Wazir, a close aide of the PTM leader, described a relentless cycle of court victories followed by fresh detentions. Even after the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench declared the MPO detention illegal on September 27, 2024, Wazir remained in custody.
“Even after the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench declared his MPO detention illegal on September 27, 2024, he still could not walk free.
The Gujrat Deputy Commissioner immediately issued another MPO-III order, and Ali was transferred to Gujrat Jail,” said Badshah Wazir.
Badshah described the months that followed as a deliberate strategy to keep Wazir incapacitated. Deputy Commissioners in Bhakkar and Gujranwala issued further MPO orders, both later overturned by courts.
Yet each time, instead of being freed, Wazir was rearrested. Balochistan Police took him from Gujranwala, booked him under an anti-terrorism FIR in district Hub, and detained him again under MPO even after he obtained bail. He was then handed to Sukkur Police on two anti-terrorism cases, both ending in acquittals.
The final case — a cybercrime FIR arising from an anti-terrorism matter in Nawabshah, where the Anti-Terrorism Court ruled the allegations did not amount to terrorism and referred the matter to the NCCIA — is now the one on which the Sindh High Court has granted him bail, following the agency’s own finding that no offence under PECA was made out against him.
Health concerns
Beyond the legal battles, Badshah also raised serious concerns about Wazir’s physical condition. He said the PTM leader, who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems, had been denied regular medical check-ups since August 2024, despite doctors recommending routine monitoring. Whether Wazir’s health has deteriorated during his detention is not yet known, but his supporters say the matter warrants urgent attention once he is released.
As of Tuesday evening, the paperwork for his release was still being processed. If no new cases materialise overnight — a prospect his counsel declined to rule out — Ali Wazir is expected to leave Sukkur Jail a free man on Wednesday morning, more than six months after he was first detained