A Bannu anti-terrorism court on Tuesday rejected the Counter-Terrorism Department's plea seeking an extension in the physical remand of MNAs Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar in a case pertaining to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack targeting security forces near a checkpost in North Waziristan's Kharqamar area.

On the evening of June 7, an IED planted near a security checkpost in Kharqamar went off, martyring three officers and a soldier. Four security personnel sustained injuries in the attack.

The same day, the CTD Bannu nominated the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement-affiliated MNAs in a first information report registered against the attack on the complaint of the North Waziristan district police officer.

Both Wazir and Dawar were already in CTD custody at the time of the IED blast ─ they had been arrested last month following the May 26 Kharqamar checkpost attack. Wazir had been taken into custody the day of the attack, while Dawar surrendered himself to security forces a few days later.

The ATC judge sent both MNAs to jail on judicial remand after the six-day physical remand obtained by the CTD on June 19 expired today.

The MNAs maintained in court today that they had been in jail when the June 7 IED blast happened and they were not involved in the attack.

The FIR, which states that the attack is linked to speeches made by the PTM-linked MNAs, booked them and others under Pakistan Penal Code sections:

• 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd)
• 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd)
• 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty)
• 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy)
• 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan)
• 122 (collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against Pakistan)
• 124 (assaulting president, governor, etc., with intention to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power)
• 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment)
• 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs50)
• 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon)
• 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object)

Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, and Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance were also added to the FIR.