Awami National Party’s Balochistan president Asghar Khan Achakzai was arrested on Wednesday after a court in Chaman cancelled his bail in a fatal road accident case.
The Balochistan Bar Council condemned the bail cancellation and announced a boycott of court proceedings on Thursday, October 22.
Achakzai’s counsel said Zahir Shah, the father of the deceased, Taimoor Shah, had lodged an FIR accusing the ANP leader of involvement in the accident. However, he later withdrew Achakzai’s name and submitted an affidavit stating that he had no connection to the case.
“Asghar Khan Achakzai has nothing to do with this case,” Shah stated in the affidavit, describing his relationship with the ANP leader as brotherly.
In a public statement, Shah also said Achakzai was not at fault. Reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, he affirmed that Achakzai had no involvement in the matter and said he had recorded his statement in court the previous day.
When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, the court cancelled Achakzai’s bail and police arrested him.
At a press conference following the arrest, ANP parliamentary leader in the Balochistan Assembly Zamrak Khan Piralizai expressed concern over the decision and termed it a conspiracy against the party’s leadership. He alleged that Achakzai was being silenced for speaking out against unconstitutional measures.
ANP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain questioned why the complainant’s statement and affidavit were being disregarded and whether the case was being used as a pretext to put pressure on Achakzai.
He said cases and arrests would neither resolve public problems nor silence political voices. Any allegation should be examined through transparent judicial proceedings, he added, demanding that the affidavit and other relevant evidence be considered and Achakzai be given a fair hearing.
Hussain expressed his party’s solidarity with Achakzai and said it would continue to raise the matter at every forum.
ANP Federal Capital Islamabad president Advocate Abdul Rahim Wazir also condemned the arrest. He said that if the complainant had submitted an affidavit stating that neither he nor his family had any role in including Achakzai’s name in the FIR, the arrest raised serious legal and constitutional questions.
Wazir described Achakzai as an outspoken advocate for the rights of Pashtuns, Baloch and other oppressed nations. His family had already suffered the loss of loved ones during its political struggle, he said, adding that attempts to silence him through cases and arrests would not succeed.
Pakistan Bar Council member Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar also expressed concern over the rejection of bail despite the complainant’s affidavit. He called for the protection of Achakzai’s legal and constitutional rights and a fair opportunity to defend himself.