Peshawar High Court has granted bail to Professor Ismail, father of Pashtun Tehreek-e-Movement (PTM) leader Gulalai Ismail, and ordered his immediate release.
A one-member bench of the Peshawar High Court comprising Justice Atiq Shah on Monday heard the bail application filed by Professor Ismail, Galali's father.
Professor Ismail was detained by anti-terrorism police in early February this year after his pre-arrest bail application was rejected. The court later remanded him to anti-terrorism police on February 3, 2021, on a three-day physical remand.
Professor Ismail's lawyer, Fazal Elahi, told VOA that the court had ordered the release of Professor Ismail on a bond of Rs 100,000 and two others on bail.
According to Fazlullah, Professor Ismail has not been released yet. He is expected to be released from Peshawar jail on Tuesday.
Peshawar Anti-Terrorism Police had registered cases against Galali Ismail and his parents on December 7, 2018 under various provisions for allegedly providing financial support to terrorists.
In these cases, raids were also carried out by the police to arrest Galali Ismail. However, she managed to reach the United States in September 2019 in secret.
Ismail said in a tweet after the cancellation of his father's pre-arrest bail and his arrest in early February this year that the same case had been dropped by the first anti-terrorism court, so re-arrest was beyond comprehension.
“My father was incarcerated to silence me and to punish him for his dissent,” she said. “However, the authorities must realise that oppression and judicial harassment only strengthen the dissenting voices.”
Gulalai Ismail is a prominent award-winning gender rights activist and is a leading member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), a rights group that calls for accountability for alleged rights abuses committed by the Pakistani military and which has faced widespread restrictions for its work.
Gulalai was forced to flee the country due to a perceived threat to her life after security forces repeatedly raided her home in attempts to arrest her in 2019.
She has sought political asylum in the United States. Shortly after her escape, Gulalai’s parents Muhammad Ismail, a 66-year-old retired Urdu professor and vocal activist against the Taliban, and Uzlifat Ismail, a 62-year-old housewife, saw terrorism financing charges lodged against them.
They are accused of financially aiding and facilitating the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed group in two attacks in Peshawar, one on a church in 2013 that killed more than 78 people and another on a Shia mosque in 2015 that killed more than 20 worshippers.
In July 2020, a similar case against them was dismissed over a lack of evidence by a court, but authorities refiled the charges and arrested Ismail in February this year.
Muhammad Ismail is also facing separate charges of sharing “anti-state” content on social media for expressing dissent against the country’s government and armed forces.
Rights groups say space for expressing dissent in Pakistan, particularly against the country’s powerful armed forces which have ruled the country for roughly half its 74-year history, has shrunk dramatically in recent years.
“The crackdown on the media, civil society and the political opposition intensified [in 2020],” reads the opening to United Kingdom-based rights group Amnesty International’s annual report chapter on Pakistan.
“Professor [Muhammad] Ismail’s bail is welcome news, especially in light of his ill health and weakened condition post his COVID diagnosis,” said Rimmel Mohydin, South Asia campaigner for Amnest
“However, the charges against him have not been dropped, which is of great concern as he remains at risk of imprisonment if convicted.” Gulalai Ismail described her father’s health as “fragile”.
“My father’s bail is a relief, however, his health is fragile and even after the release he would have to attend the trial court dates on daily basis which will have a huge toll on his already deteriorating health.”
