ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday maintained the objections of Registrar Office on an intra court appeal (ICA) seeking dismissal of a verdict against the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders – Shehryar Khan Afridi and Shandana Gulzar – under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
A two-member IHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, heard the intra-court appeal filed by the District Magistrate Islamabad challenging the verdict of single member bench.
In its order, the IHC bench noted that the Registrar Office had raised the objection that the single member bench had not issued its detailed order so far. The single-member bench, in its interim order, had also directed to release Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar with some conditions. The court asked whether the accused after his release had convened any political procession or harmed law and order situation.
The Advocate General of Islamabad read out the verdict of the single bench and said that it had given complete relief to the petitioners. Justice Jahangiri observed that the court had not terminated the MPO instead it had just added some conditions to apply it.
The court questioned that how the appeal against the interim order was maintainable. The chief justice remarked that it will set a precedent if the court take up the appeal against an interim order.
Justice Aamer Farooq said that the district magistrate could approach the court for the arrest of the accused if they violated the law. The (single member bench) verdict did not stop arrest of the petitioners in other cases, he said, adding that purpose of such orders was to stop the repeated arrests of an accused under the MPO. The court, subsequently, maintained the objections of Registrar Office and disposed of the plea.
