ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the authority of the deputy commissioner to issue detention orders under 3-MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) as illegal.
The IHC Justice, Babar Sattar, on Friday, announced its reserved judgment accepting the petitions against the arrest of Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar under the MPO.
The order said that the Islamabad deputy commissioner does not have the authority to issue detention orders under section 3, adding the federal cabinet should have the power to issue detention orders under the law.
Lawyer and PTI leader Babar Awan said that Justice Sattar observed that those who carried out the arrests under the law should be punished. Awan slammed the martial law era order, stating that the power conferred on the commissioner and deputy commissioner under the law was unlawful.
“The court has declared the 3MPO order illegal,” he said, adding that only the federal cabinet can pass orders in Islamabad.
The IHC had, on September 7, restrained the deputy commissioner of Islamabad from exercising section 3 of MPO powers until further notice.
Justice Sattar ruled that the Islamabad DC cannot use the powers of Section 3 of MPO until further notice and issued a notice to the attorney general for assistance in determining the constitutionality and legality of the ordinance.
Advocate Salahuddin Ahmed and Advocate Waqar Rana were appointed as amicus to provide assistance on the matter.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023