LAHORE: Following Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench made a ruling on Thursday, declaring the detention of former PTI minister Shehryar Afridi as illegal and ordered to release Afridi from prison, the PTI leader was rearrested by Police.
Afridi was rearrested for record 10th time since his arrest, said his lawyer Mr Sher Afzal Marwat.
“#The state of the Rule of Law in Pakistan: On his release from Adiala Jail, 3 dozens Police force re-arrested Shehryar Afridi 10th time in a New Town Police station case. This arrest speaks how did the IG Punjab Police dodge the High Court on 20th June. See the HC order below,” he alleged.
#The state of the Rule of Law in Pakistan:
On his release from Adiala Jail, 3 dozens Police force re-arrested Shehryar Afridi 10th time in a New Town Police station case. This arrest speaks how did the IG Punjab Police dodge the High Court on 20th June. See the HC order below. pic.twitter.com/n45BEHJH7R— Sher Afzal Khan Marwat (@sherafzalmarwat) August 3, 2023
According to his lawyer, Afridi was arrested as Police has named him in an FIR for alleged violence in New Town Cantt Rawalpindi.
Earlier, the LHC also declared the detention of Shehryar Afridi’s brother Farrukh Afridi and PTI leaders Nadia Hussain and Shah Jahan also declared illegal. The decision was handed down by Justice Anwar-ul-Haq Pannu after hearing the petition filed against Shehryar Afridi’s detention.
The case under scrutiny was registered in Bahawalpur, and during the court proceedings, Justice Anwar-ul-Haq Pannu approved the protective bail for Shehryar Afridi.
The court subsequently declared his detention in Adiala Jail as unlawful, a verdict that comes as a relief to the former PTI minister.
Furthermore, the court also ruled that the detention of Shehryar Afridi’s brother, Farrukh Afridi, was also illegal.
The PTI leader was taken into custody on May 16 from his residence in Islamabad under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. This ordinance grants the government the authority to arrest individuals.
Shortly after his release from prison in Rawalpindi on May 30, Afridi was rearrested under the same MPO law. The city police officer accused Afridi of “instigating/planning to organise an unlawful assembly/commit violence, delivering unlawful speeches to cause harm to human life and public/private properties.”
Although the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the orders for his detention on June 6, Afridi allegedly remained confined in a death cell at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
