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PTI’s Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar set free after IHC suspends MPO orders

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  • Afridi was first arrested from his Islamabad residence on May 16.
  • Gulzar was allegedly “picked up” by Islamabad police on Aug 9.
  • Court also orders contempt of court proceedings DC Islamabad.

The detention orders against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) politicians, Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar, were Wednesday suspended with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordering their immediate release.

The two PTI leaders were held in custody by the Islamabad Police under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, which was slashed by the court during the hearing of pleas filed seeking Afridi and Gulzar’s release.

Both politicians were held by law enforcement for their alleged involvement in the May 9 riots, which were triggered after the arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan earlier this year.

Afridi was first arrested from his Islamabad residence under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960, on May 16. Despite a release order, he was immediately rearrested under the same section on May 30.

The PTI politician was then granted bail by the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench on August 3. But his freedom was short-lived as Rawalpindi police once again took him into custody following his release from Adiala jail.

In response to his arrest, the former minister’s lawyer filed a plea in the IHC, requesting his release as well as the revocation of the MPO order.

Meanwhile, Gulzar was allegedly picked up by Islamabad police on August 9, after which her mother filed a petition in the IHC.

During today’s hearing, IHC’s directives also included contempt of court proceedings against the federal capital’s deputy commissioner.

Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC asked Afridi if he had a house in the capital city, to which the politician replied in affirmative and was allowed to go home. The court also ordered Gulzar’s immediate release but restricted her movement within Islamabad.

If anything happened to Gulzar, the judge said, the Islamabad Inspector General Akbar Nasir Khan and chief commissioner will be responsible.

Afridi, who was in police custody on multiple charges, appeared in the court along with his lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat, carrying a copy of the Holy Quran.

Justice Babar Sattar, during the hearing of the case, summoned Islamabad deputy commissioner to the rostrum and sought details regarding the events of May 9.

According to intelligence reports, the DC said, the politician provoked people. The DC added there are reports of Afridi’s involvement in planning the attack on the district courts in the party’s campaign against the judiciary.

Justice Sattar inquired the DC how Afridi provoked people despite being in jail.

“My eyes and ears are only intelligence reports, the DC said in his response.

When the court inquired from the Station House Officer (SHO) what information he had about Afridi planning the attack, he said someone else was in charge.

The judge asked the same question from the District Police Officer. “I was on leave at the time,” the officer said.

The court then asked the DC if a response to the show cause notice was filed. “Yes, sir. A written reply has been filed,” he responded.

When the IHC judge enquired police officials about the events of May 8 in the federal capital, Islamabad IG said action is taken on the basis of apprehensions before the incident takes place.

“We took these actions to maintain the law and order situation,” he said.

Justice Sattar termed the Special Branch’s report a “joke”, seeking the notification which allowed the arrest of the PTI politician.

Tahir Kazim, the counsel for the Senior Superintendent of Police, told the court that the reasons for quashing the first MPO orders were different.

Responding to his argument, the court said that detention orders were issued after the arrest. Action on threat alerts is based on apprehension, it added.

Justice Sattar also extended the court’s displeasure over Afridi’s repeated arrests in light of the 3MPO order and declared it “void”.

He also termed the response of the SSP operations as unsatisfactory, ordering for him to be charged as well and also ordered contempt of court action against the DC.

In his remarks, Justice Sattar said that the charge will be framed against the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad.

The court later inquired about Afridi’s meetings during his detention in the Adiala jail from the jail superintendent.

The hearing of the case was adjourned for 2 weeks.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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