PTI camp burning case: PPP leader terms FIR political victimisation

PESHAWAR: A local court here on Monday extended the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) General Secretary Humayun Khan and its provincial President Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha till July 12.

The two PPP leaders were accused of setting fire to a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest camp on Khyber Road.The case was heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge Peshawar, Ismatullah Wazir.

During the proceedings, the petitioners were represented by Gohar Rehman Khattak, who argued that the first information report (FIR) was politically motivated and filed in retaliation for participating in a peaceful protest against the provincial government.

The counsel maintained that his clients were peaceful citizens and political activists exercising their constitutional right to protest. He told the court that instead of upholding this right, police responded to the protest with baton-charge and teargas shelling, and later registered criminal cases against the PPP leaders.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Humayun Khan said that the PPP had successfully faced such cases in the past and would do so again. “The FIR was lodged against us for participating in the ‘Save the Province’ movement. This is nothing but political victimization,” he said.

He added that the PPP would continue to raise its voice against injustice and exploitative systems at every platform.Humayun Khan emphasized that the PPP would not back down from its commitment to defending the rights of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We will not be intimidated by false and baseless cases. We have never bowed before political revenge and we never will,” he stated. He praised the party workers for remaining peaceful during the protest despite what he described as the “brutal response” of the provincial government. “Whenever there is injustice, the workers of the PPP are the first to raise their voices,” he said.