Supreme Court grants bail to ‘Gwadar ko Haq Do Tehreek’ chief Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (SABAH): The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday granted bail to chief of the “Gwadar ko Haq Do Tehreek” and Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Balochistan Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch who has been in detention for over four months on murder charges. The court has ordered immediate release of Maulana Hidayatur Rehman is he is not wanted in any other case.

Maulana Hidayutur Rehman made the headlines last year for leading a series of protests in Gwadar against illegal trawling in Gwadar’s waters, a high number of security checkpoints and a lack of trade on the Pak-Iran border.

Maulana Hidayutur Rehman was arrested in Gwadar on Jan 13 over charges stemming from the killing of a policeman by unidentified assailants on Dec 27, 2022, during the protests held by Gwadar ko Haq Do Tehreek” supporters in December.

The arrest of Maulana Hidayutur Rehman ignited protests in various parts of Gwadar. His supporters had issued a warning last month that further demonstrations would follow if he was not acquitted.

Hidayatur Rehman’s bail plea was taken up by a three-member bench led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justice Aminduddin Khan and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar. Maulana Hidayatur Rehman’s lawyer Senator Kamran Murtaza Advocate was also present. Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Sirajul Haq, Deputy Chiefs of JI Liaqat Baloch, Mian Muhammad Aslam, JI MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, JI Islamabad Emir Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa were also present during the hearing of the case.    

At the start of the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel brought to the court’s attention that his client was apprehended from court premises.

Justice Masood inquired about the reasons for not challenging the arrest.

In response, the counsel explained that at the time of the incident, the Supreme Court had not yet ruled that an arrest made within the premises would be considered unlawful. “This rule was decided in the wake of the arrest of Imran Khan,” the lawyer said.

However, the state counsel argued against granting bail to Maulana Hidayatur Rehman until the judicial proceedings of the main suspect, Majid Johar, were concluded.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar inquired whether Hidayatur Rehman faced charges of inciting and aiding in the murder of the policeman.

Murtaza, his counsel, replied that the specific charge would be determined during the trial.

The counsel told the court that Rehman’s movement was primarily related to the facilitation of water supply. The counsel replied that the facts will be determined during the trial, adding that his client’s movement was related to the provision of water for the people of Gwadar.

After hearing arguments, the apex court approved bail for Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, subject to two surety bonds valued at Rs300,000 each.