Ammar Ali Jan Released On Bail After Arrest Sparks Protest

Ammar Ali Jan Released On Bail After Arrest Sparks Protest
LAHORE: Prominent academic and human rights activist Ammar Ali Jan was on Saturday released on bail after being taken into custody earlier in the day.

He was taken into custody by Liberty Police in Lahore and shifted to an undisclosed location. He was later brought back to the police station. (Scroll down for the video).

Police booked Ammar Ali Jan under sections 290/291 and 147/149 of Pakistan Penal Code and under 16/MPO and 6 Sound System Act 2015.

The FIR has been filed by a Sub-Inspector at Gulberg Police Station, Lahore. It says that Ammar Ali Jan, along with his comrades, including Advocate Nisar Safdar, Mr Riaz, Syed Adeeb, Zahir Baloch etc, had been trying to incite people to violence against the state institutions.

It further says that these people had been raising slogans against state institutions.

A copy of the FIR has been obtained from the police station.

Scanned copy of the FIR filed against Dr Ammar Ali Jan



Later, he was brought back to Liberty Police Station. Ammar talked to his comrades gathered outside Liberty Police Station and announced that Shehri Tahaffuz March will go as planned.



According to Ammar’s own Facebook profile, his house was raided by police at 4am today and he was taken into custody. Later, he was charged at Liberty Police Station and then shifted to an undisclosed location.



Ammar’s Facebook profile says that he had been charged for participating in a protest against Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) worker Arman Loni murdered in Loralai earlier this week.



In 2018, Ammar Ali Jan was fired from Punjab University under dubious circumstances. Punjab University, after initially claiming that Ammar’s contract was never renewed by the varsity, had later declared that he had been involved in ‘fanning anti-state’ sentiments at the campus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXijzdwEp6U

Social Media Reacts to Arrest And Demands Release

"By raiding the house of progressive university teacher Ammar Ali Jan in Lahore, by arresting and shifting him to unknown place, the state security agencies have taken their repression against peaceful dissent to a new level": Afrasiab Khattak.

https://twitter.com/a_siab/status/1094046506829529088

"AWP condemns the arrest of Dr. Ammar Ali Jan from his home in Lahore, for the 'crime' of demanding justice for Arman Luni's killing. Peaceful protest is a fundamental constitutional right": Awami Workers Party.

https://twitter.com/AwamiWorkers/status/1094025520344428544

"This is absolutely ridiculous. Ammar Ali Jan is a respected scholar, teacher and upright citizen. Participating in peaceful protest is every citizen’s democratic right": Nida Kirmani

https://twitter.com/nidkirm/status/1094022228218466305

"Political dissent is not a crime and should not be criminalized by the state authorities": Shahzad Ahmad.

https://twitter.com/sirkup/status/1094068470600425472




PS: It is a developing story and we'll update as more information arrives.

Naya Daur Media (NDM) is a bi-lingual progressive digital media platform aiming to inform and educate Pakistanis at home and abroad. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow us on Facebook   Twitter and Instagram Visit our Urdu website