Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar, two Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) politicians, had detention orders suspended against them on Wednesday after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered their immediate release.
The Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, which the court struck down during the hearing of the petitions for Afridi and Gulzar’s release, was the reason the two PTI leaders were being held by the Islamabad Police.
Law enforcement detained both politicians over their alleged participation in the May 9 riots, which broke out following the arrest of PTI leader Imran Khan earlier this year.
Afridi was initially detained on May 16 at his home in Islamabad in accordance with Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960. Despite a release order, he was immediately detained again on May 30 for the same offence.
On August 3, the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court granted bail to the PTI politician. However, his freedom was only fleeting because the Rawalpindi police again detained him after he was let out of the Adiala prison.
After his arrest, the former minister’s attorney submitted a plea in the IHC asking for both his release and the cancellation of the MPO order.
Gulzar’s mother petitioned the IHC on August 9 after Gulzar was allegedly taken away by Islamabad police.
IHC’s instructions at the hearing today also included starting contempt court actions against the deputy commissioner of the federal capital.
Afridi was asked by Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC if he had a home in the capital city, and when he replied in the affirmative, he was given permission to return home. While restricting Gulzar’s movement within Islamabad, the court also mandated her immediate release.
The judge declared that the chief commissioner and Inspector General Akbar Nasir Khan of Islamabad would be held accountable if anything happened to Gulzar.
