ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry did a stunning U-turn on Tuesday, returning to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) just as police were about to arrest him again.
While leaving the IHC in his car, Fawad received word that he had been released by the court after his “illegal” arrest on May 10 under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Ordinance (MPO).
Despite the PTI leader’s promise not to violate section 144 and take part in protests in the IHC, police moved to arrest him instead.
After considering both petitions, the Supreme Court ordered top party leaders Shireen Mazari and Senator Falak Naz to be “immediately” released.
While hearing individual cases, Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb gave the release orders for the PTI leaders.
Barrister Jahangir Jadoon, the Islamabad Advocate General, came before the lone judge at Fawad’s hearing.
“I want to place some facts before the court,” he told the judge, explaining that the court’s order had not been provided to the IG office or the law officers. He further mentioned that the petition had not undergone biometric verification of the PTI leader.
The judge then corrected the attorney, reminding him that he was not the judge and that it was the court’s responsibility to verify the completion of the biometrics.
The AG then continued by saying that Fawad was never actually arrested. If he was arrested for a legal reason, he would have to appear in court.
Lawyer Jadoon added that Fawad should show via his actions whether he is a law-abiding citizen or not. He also said that the country lost billions of dollars because of what happened on May 9.
The Honorable Justice Aurangzeb noted at this that the court had not restrained the government from acting in response to these instances.
However, Jadoon did note that the court had specifically addressed the MPO while halting Imran Khan’s arrest. It could have been made under MPO if they hadn’t restricted it to cases, he said.
The judge then inquired as to who had advised that an MPO arrest be made.
When asked by the judge, the AG said that no one had informed them of the court order prohibiting arrest.
The government attorney then played a tweet by Fawad from May 10 in which he claimed to have seen PTI leader Imran Khan pushing workers to join the protests.
A government attorney said that Fawad had tweeted that PTI employees had a duty to protest Imran Khan’s incarceration.
Babar Awan stated that by this time, the deputy commissioner should be aware of the high court’s order on the arrest. He requested more time for his client to contact the appropriate court and for the court to prolong its injunction preventing the authorities from detaining Fawad.
The judge then inquired as to whether or not the PTI leader had been shown any paperwork by the police upon his detention.
“When the order was read, the police officer said he did not know English,” Awan added. He went on to say that his client was arrested on false information.
Justice Aurangzeb responded to the PTI lawyer’s claim by saying that the events that took place after Imran Khan’s arrest needed to be treated very seriously.
Despite his prominence as a former federal minister, does Fawad Chaudhry know Pakistan’s criminal underworld? inquired of Judge Aurangzeb.
Did Fawad anticipate that only law-abiding persons would answer his call for help?
When asked “What should be done if the district magistrate does not issue this [detention] order?” inquired of Judge Aurangzeb. He continued by saying that Fawad had been released from jail after being called before a judge.
According to the sentence, “it had not seen the material shared by the advocate general today.” The judge had put off making a decision at that point.
The IHC has issued an order for Mazari’s release at this time.
After hearing a plea made on behalf of Mazari, Justice Aurangzeb released her, ruling that her detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) was unjustified.
Former human rights minister Imaan Mazari’s daughter had petitioned the IHC to free her mother.
Zainab Janjua, counsel for the petitioner, told the court today that the district magistrate had ordered Mazari’s arrest out of concern for the state of law and order. She further mentioned that the ex-minister had been accused of encouraging PTI members.
But the lawyer told the judge that her client had been in court since May 9 and hadn’t even made a public remark. She also said that her home’s CCTV footage and call log reveal the former ministers’ whereabouts.
The judge then demanded, “Tell us what is the age of Mazari.” Janjua revealed to the court that the PTI leader is 72 years old and has a history of health problems.
At this time, the district magistrate, who was actually the deputy commissioner, showed up in court.
However, the court was annoyed by the DC’s inability to produce the record, and it ordered the official to appear with the evidence upon which his detention order was based.
The court then adjourned for lunch. The former minister for human rights had his imprisonment deemed “illegal” once the hearing commenced.
PTI Senator Falak Naz, who was also arrested under the same clause as Mazari, was also released by the bench.
