- SCBA condemns, LBA bans entry of police in lower courts until Marwat’s release
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued notices to the Deputy Commissioner and police on a petition challenging the detention of PTI Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
Marwat was arrested from outside the LHC on Thursday, when he was leaving the high court premises after addressing a lawyers convention. Footage of his arrest shared by the PTI on X (formerly Twitter) had shown policemen dragging him by the collar as several lawyers tried to stop them. He was later moved to Mozang police station from where, he was later, taken to Kot Lakhpat Jail.
The police, later, informed that Sher Afzal Marwat had been arrested under the 3 MPO order. The law empowers the police to detain a person considered “prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order”.
The arrest was strongly criticised by PTI leaders and lawyers’ bodies. A statement shared on the party’s official X account held the caretaker government responsible for “acting as a facilitator” during the “unabated lawlessness”.
On friday, Marwat’s brother filed a petition in the LHC seeking the quashing of the PTI leader’s detention orders. He urged the court to declare the arrest “illegal, maliciously motivated, void ab initio and non-est”.
The petitioner has made Lahore deputy commissioner, superintendent central jail, Punjab Inspector General of Police, Lahore capital city police officer, DIG operations, DIG investigations, Civil Lines SP, district intelligence and the Mozang Police SHO as respondents in the case.
The application stated that the government had detained Marwat as a “political vendetta”. It also demanded that Marwat be released till the disposal of the petition.
The petition was taken up by LHC’s Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary in the chamber. He issued notices to and sought responses from the deputy commissioner and other respondents in the case.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned.
Sher Afzal Marwat challenges his detention
Meanwhile, PTI’s Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat on Friday challenged his detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
Sher Afzal Marwat was arrested from outside the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday evening. The senior PTI leader has challenged his detention in the Lahore High Court (LHC) through his lawyer Adnan Kalar.
The petition stated that Sher Afzal Marwat’s arrest was made on political grounds and the PTI leader was not involved in any “illegal activity”. The lawyer pleaded with the court to declare his client’s detention “null and void” and issue Marwat’s release orders.
LBA bans entry of police in courts
Speaking to media outside the court later, Marwat’s lawyer Latif Khosa claimed his client was detained based on “assumptions”, recalling that gates of the LHC were closed ahead of the PTI leader’s arrest yesterday.
“We went to the Mozang police station later but were told Marwat was not brought there,” he said, adding that even the CCPO office was empty.
“It is madness to think that Sher Afzal Marwat would disrupt peace in Punjab,” Khosa asserted. “This is a mockery of lawyers in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, Advocate Rana Intizar, who is also the president of the Lahore Bar Association, said lawyers had decided to restrict the entry of police inside courts until Marwat was released.
In a statement on Friday, he strongly condemned Sher Afzal Marwat’s arrest from outside the Lahore High Court and announced a ban on the entry of policemen in the lower courts to register their protest against the arrest of a lawyer.
Rana Intezar said police entry will remain banned until the release of Sher Afzal Marwat.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) demanded Sher Afzal Marwat’s release.
In a press statement, SCBA condemning the arrest of Sher Afzal Marwat termed it as against human rights and expressed concerns about the act.
Calling it for revision of 16 MPO law for ‘maintaining standards of justice’, the SCBA has demanded the immediate release of the lawyer.
