Peshawar (Agencies/Staff Report): Sufi Muhammad, the chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), on Monday released from jail after at least eight years imprisonment for hate speech against the government.
On July 30, 2009, a Swat police station had booked the TNSM chief for hate speech against the government. In that speech, Sufi Muhammad had termed the Constitution “un-Islamic” and demanded enforcement of the Sharia.
The TNSM chief had been imprisoned since his arrest when the final phase of a military operation against militants was launched in the Malakand region.
A number of cases were registered against Sufi Muhammad; however, in each case, witnesses against him had either died or could not be traced.
Last week, the Peshawar High Court ordered the controversial cleric’s release after accepting his bail application in two different cases ─ one pertaining to hate speech against the government and the other related to an attack on a police station.