IHC orders her immediate release, probe into ‘illegal’ arrest

KARACHI: The Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah on Saturday ordered the immediate release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Shireen Mazari besides directing the federal government to hold a judicial inquiry into her “illegal” arrest, Aaj News reported.

A single judge bench of IHC headed by Chief Justice Minallah said that the terms of reference (TOR) for setting up a judicial commission to hold an inquiry into Mazari’s arrest be presented before the court.

Mazari, the ex-minister for human rights was presented before IHC Chief Justice Minallah’s court later Saturday night as he had earlier ordered to produce her before him at 11:30pm after her daughter Barrister Iman Zainab Mazari filed a plea against her mother’s arrest.

With directives to return the cell phone of Dr Mazari that according to her was snatched by plainclothes shortly after her arrest, the IHC chief justice remarked that the arrest of Dr Mazari was apparently “illegal”.

During the hearing, the IHC chief justice said that there is a constitution and the court works under the constitution, adding no member of parliament can be arrested without the National Assembly speaker’s permission as no member of parliament belonging to PTI has been de-notified yet. Barrister Iman Mazari prayed the court to ask the people who arrested her mother why are they afraid of a judicial inquiry into the case.

Justice Minallah said that this is quite unfortunate and the political leadership needs to think about it, adding all the political parties must respect the constitution.

The IHC chief justice also directed the inspector general police Islamabad to take action against the ICT police officials who arrested the PTI leader.

PML-N will never engage in vindictive politics, says Maryam after Mazari's arrest

He also questioned deputy commissioner Islamabad, and said: “Can anybody be arrested from Islamabad without asking anybody from the administration.” When Dr Mazari was being taken to court by the police, she told journalists that the officials who arrested her had claimed she was being arrested on the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his interior minister Rana Sanaullah.

“The police officials who arrested me told me that I was being arrested on the orders of Shehbaz Sharif (Prime Minister) and Rana Sanaullah (interior minister). This is being done by the ‘fascist government’ and intelligence agencies,” she added.

She said that she was being taken to Lahore via Motorway but stopped at Chakri, adding she was dragged out of her car without showing any warrant by uniformed police personnel of Kohsar police station.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022