[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad is wanted by the Swat and Dir Lower police in 16 cases, sources told The News on Monday.A sedition case, filed by the Saidu Sharif police station, is now the 17th against Sufi. "In fact, 10 cases were registered against Sufi Muhammad in police stations of Swat, while six others were lodged in Dir Lower under different sections of the law," a senior police officer said. He added that some family members of Sufi, his close aides and leaders of the TNSM were also booked in these cases. Sufi had been acquitted by the court in one of the 16 cases. A source disclosed that the government had decided to withdraw the rest after the TNSM leader was tasked to broker a deal between the government and the militants, led by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, for restoration of peace to Swat. "However, these cases have not been formally withdrawn," said a source in the NWFP government. The 17th case against the TNSM chief was lodged at the Saidu Sharif police station on Saturday.
The police had initiated an inquiry under 156/3 two days before the registration of the First Information Report (FIR), after which a case was registered against the TNSM chief under Section 120-B and 7-ATA for issuing statements against the State and its institutions, including parliament and the judiciary, during a public gathering at the Grassy Ground in Mingora on April 19.