April 16, 2026
By Rehan Piracha
LAHORE
Pushtun rights activist and former member of the National Assembly, Ali Wazir, has gone on a 48-hour hunger strike inside the District Jail Dadu to protest the denial of medical care by prison authorities, his counsel Imdad Hyder Solangi told Voicepk on Thursday.
Solangi, who visited Wazir in jail on Thursday and delivered the necessary medications himself, said his client began the strike on April 14 after authorities refused to provide medical attention when his health deteriorated due to a severe spike in blood pressure.
“Despite repeated requests, I was denied necessary medical care on April 14, 2026, when my health deteriorated due to a severe rise in blood pressure. Such conduct not only reflects disregard for human dignity but also raises serious concerns regarding adherence to constitutional and legal obligations by the concerned authorities.” Ali Wazir, said in a written statement from Dadu Jail that his legal team shared with Voicepk.
A protest rooted in denial
In a written statement shared with his legal team during their visit, Wazir described the hunger strike as “a peaceful protest against the inhumane treatment and the continued violation of my fundamental rights.” He characterised his detention as politically motivated, reiterating that he is a political worker who has consistently struggled for the constitutional rights of his people.
Wazir noted that courts had already vindicated him in earlier cases against him.
“The cases previously instituted against me have been adjudicated by the learned courts of Sindh, which have acquitted me — affirming that those allegations were without merit,” he wrote, adding that the pattern of fresh charges each time he was freed reinforced his claim that he was being punished for his political beliefs.
He appealed to the Sindh judiciary to ensure that justice is upheld “in its true spirit,” and said that attempts to silence him through repressive measures would not deter him from his commitment to marginalised communities. “My resolve remains firm,” the statement read.
Prolonged detention
Wazir has been in custody since March 16, the same day the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered his release from Sukkur Central Jail. According to his legal team, he was returning home with family and associates that evening when a large contingent of police and plainclothes law enforcement personnel arrived in government vehicles and forcibly detained him. Mobile phones were seized, those present were assaulted, and family members were allegedly warned against approaching any court.
His whereabouts remained unknown for two days. A habeas corpus petition was filed before the District Judge Sukkur on March 18, followed by a constitutional petition before the SHC the following day. Wazir was eventually produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Naushahro Feroze on March 19 and sent to Dadu Jail on judicial remand. He has since been implicated in three FIRs that his legal team describes as “false, bogus, and fabricated.”
Wazir’s lawyers describe his situation as a sustained pattern of judicially manufactured detention. Since 2024, he has faced multiple terrorism and sedition charges across Sindh, alongside at least three Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) detention orders spanning Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad, and Balochistan. Each time a court granted bail or struck down a detention order, a fresh one would follow from a different district administration.
The courts have repeatedly sided with him. An ATC in Sukkur acquitted him in two cases in August and September 2025. A third FIR was cancelled by a judicial magistrate in Naushahro Feroze after the ATC found it lacked the requisite element of terror. A fourth case, filed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, was investigated by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), whose officer submitted a report in March 2026 stating that Wazir had committed no offence under the law. The SHC’s Hyderabad Circuit Court subsequently ordered his release on March 10, 2026 — an order rendered meaningless by his rearrest six days later.
Court proceedings in third FIR
Proceedings in connection with the third FIR — FIR No. 85/2026, registered at Police Station Jamshoro — were held on Thursday before Magistrate and Civil Judge Riaz Rasool Memon in Jamshoro. The investigation officer failed to appear without prior notice, drawing sharp displeasure from the court, which issued a warning directing him to attend the next hearing with the required record. The next date has been fixed for April 23.
Constitutional petition fixed for hearing on April 22
Separately, a constitutional bench of the SHC’s Hyderabad Circuit Court, comprising Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry and Justice Riazat Ali Sahar, has taken up a petition filed by Wazir challenging the two Dadu FIRs. The bench has issued notices to senior provincial government and police officials, with all respondents directed to file replies before the next hearing on April 22.
Through the petition, Wazir’s legal team has asked the court to restrain investigation officers from submitting challans until the matter is decided. It has also requested the Inspector General of Police Sindh to prevent subordinates from registering any further FIRs against Wazir.
In his statement, Wazir framed the broader stakes of his detention in terms that reach beyond his own case. “The political stability of the country is deeply rooted in democratic principles, rule of law, and respect for fundamental rights,” he wrote. “Any deviation from these values weakens the very foundation of our collective future.”