Pakistan's court grants bail to pro-Taliban cleric's sons

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Pakistan's court granted the bail to three sons of Maulana Sufi Mohammad, leader of the outlawed Tahreek-e-Nifaz Shariat Mohammadi, and ordered a release on Wednesday, local TV channel reported.

The three sons of Sufi Mohammad, namely Ziaullah, Rizwanullah and Hayatullah, who have been kept in a prison in Peshawar, capital city of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), had challenged their detention in the Peshawar High Court.

The court Wednesday gave its verdict, granting the bail to them and ordered to release them, the private TV GEO News reported.

The petitioners, along with Sufi Mohammad, were arrested from their residence in Sethi Town in NWFP on July 22. On July 27, they were sent to Peshawar Central Prison under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) for one month.

Atlas Khan, the counsel for the petitioners, contended that the detainees are sons of Sufi Mohammad, but they are innocent and their arrest was illegal.

Muhammad brokered a peace deal with the government in February to set up Islamic courts in the Swat valley and several other parts of NWFP.

But the deal failed as Taliban in Swat refused to give up arms and the authorities say that Muhammad also violated the deal by not asking the Taliban to lay down arms.

The authorities registered treason case against Muhammad in early August for making a speech at a public meeting against the state organs in April. He was still kept in the Peshawar Central Prison.