Daily Times

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wants to withdraw the case pertaining to a clash at a Kharqamar military checkpost against Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leaders and workers, a private TV channel reported on Friday.

The case was registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department Bannu last year against multiple PTM workers for allegedly attacking a security checkpost on May 26 in the Kharqamar area. Three people were killed and 15 were injured, including five soldiers, in the clash. Senior PTM members and MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir were nominated in the case along with others.

On Friday, it emerged that an application was filed in a Bannu anti-terrorism court on March 16, saying that the government wants to withdraw the case, which was being heard in Abbottabad due to security reasons. The application was filed on behalf of the state through Bannu district public prosecutor and ATC Bannu’s senior public prosecutor. “The state/government as per instructions of the provincial government […] with reference to the prevailing situation, we intend to withdraw prosecution of the subject case,” the application read.

An official at the court, who requested anonymity, also confirmed that the application has been filed. The court, however, has yet to fix a date for the hearing of the application.

The legal representative of Dawar and Wazir, Abdul Latif Afridi, who is a senior lawyer and president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association also confirmed the move but said that his clients are yet to receive a copy of the application filed by the government.

The move to withdraw the case came days after the group accepted the government’s offer for talks but called for confidence-building measures (CBM) to demonstrate sincerity. In a press conference last month, PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen had said that the government must take steps to bridge the trust deficit, adding that it was customary for parties to take CBMs before entering into talks.