PM Imran directs interior ministry to allow Mohsin Dawar, Ali Wazir to travel to Kabul

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday allowed Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir to travel to Kabul after they were stopped authorities from flying abroad.

Dawar and Wazir were stopped by authorities from flying to Kabul to attend Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's oath taking ceremony in Kabul. The MNAs were stopped at the immigration counter of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as their names are on the ECL.

However, according to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar, PM Imran directed the interior ministry to allow both MNAs to travel to Kabul.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Wazir and Dawar had not sought permission to travel to Kabul. She said the two MNAs' names were on the no-fly list. Responding to Dawar's criticism, she said his statement was "misleading and an attempt to malign state institutions".

The interior ministry, on the other hand, backed Dr Firdous's statement, saying that the PTM MNAs had not sought permission to travel to Kabul. The ministry said that it was the prerogative of the Ministry of Interior to handle affairs related to the ECL.

Read more: 3 killed, 5 soldiers injured in clash between security forces and PTM in North Waziristan

Dawar and Wazir are critics of the PTI-led government and state institutions. In May last year, a clash between PTM supporters and security forces at the Kharqamar checkpost left three people dead and five soldiers injured. 

The two MNAs were accused of inciting PTM supporters to attack the Kharqamar checkpost, resulting in the clash. Dawar and Wazir had denied allegations. 

A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) blamed Dawar and Wazir for assaulting Kharqamar check post. 

"They wanted to exert pressure for the release of suspected terrorists’ facilitator arrested the other day. Troops at the check post exercised maximum restraint in the face of provocation and direct firing on the post," the Pakistan Army's media wing had said.

However, after spending four months in Bannu jail, Dawar and Wazir were granted bail and released. They continue to deny charges of attacking the military checkpost.