While turning down unconditional apology of Islamabad Capital Territory’ top brass on Thursday, Islamabad High Court indicted deputy commissioner and three others under the charges of contempt who failed to comply with the court directives and apprehended PTI leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance.
During June, Islamabad High Court restrained the authorities from apprehending both the leaders, however, they both were taken into custody in response to directives of the Islamabad Deputy Commissioner orders under MPO. Earlier on August 16, a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Babar Sattar set both the politicians free after disagreeing with the prosecution story behind detaining Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar saying the authorities had failed to satisfy the court that there existed an objective basis to detain the accused persons.
The bench categorically directed both the leaders not to leave territorial jurisdiction of the IHC without permission of the court whereas no state authority can make Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar’s arrest in any other case till final adjudication of their pleas before the IHC.
Issuing the release order of both the leaders, Justice Babar Sattar also initiated contempt proceedings against Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) operations Jamil Zafar, Superintendent of Police (SP) Farooq Buttar and Margalla Station House Officer (SHO) Nasir Manzoor. On Thursday, Justice Babar Sattar took up the contempt plea pertaining to the arrests of PTI leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar, who were released in August after being detained in the immediate aftermath of May 09 riots.
The development comes a day after the IHC stripped Islamabad’s district magistrate of his powers to detain suspects under the MPO while hearing the same case. The PTI leaders had been held by the police in connection with the May 09 violence, with Afridi first arrested on May 16 and Gulzar taken into custody on August 09. On August 16, the IHC had allowed Afridi and Gulzar to be released and decided to indict the DC and SSP for contempt after deeming their responses to the court as ‘unsatisfactory’.
A day ago, the IHC had also issued show-cause notices to the city police chief, chief commissioner and other police officials over criminal contempt of court for abuse of authority to obstruct dispensation of justice and cause diversion to the course of justice.
During the hearing on Thursday, DC Memon furnished an unconditional apology and urged the court to not indict him. The DC and the three other officers denied the charge after they were indicted, with SSP Zafar seeking time to defend himself. At the outset of the hearing, Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat presented his arguments against indicting the officials. He urged the IHC to not indict them as the “officers have furnished an unconditional apology”. “How can we not indict them? The matter of contempt of court was underway here yet you issued an MPO order,” Justice Sattar remarked.
Addressing the officials, Justice Sattar said, “If you are sentenced, you will be sent to jail at the most. “It is a six-month sentence. You may also live in jail and see how those who you send to jail live there,” he remarked. At this, the DC submitted, “The aim of this detention order was not to violate the court order at all.” He then furnished an unconditional apology to the court, which was rejected.
Subsequently, DC Memon’s indictment order was read out aloud and he was indicted. Then, the proceedings to indict SSP Zafar were initiated. Justice Sattar read out aloud the SSP’s indictment order and he was charged with the offence, which he denied. At this, the IHC asked him if he wished to defend himself, for which he sought more time from the court.
Similarly, SSP Buttar and SHO Manzoor were also indicted — with them denying the charges as well. The court also appointed incumbent President Islamabad Bar Association Qaiser Imam as the prosecutor in the matter and adjourned hearing of the case.
MPO detentions
Afridi was first arrested on May 16 from his Islamabad residence under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960. He was rearrested on May 30 under the same section soon after his release from prison. On July 31, Afridi was granted bail by the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench but was picked up a few days later by the Rawalpindi police soon after his release from Adiala jail. A petition was subsequently filed by his lawyer in the IHC calling for Afridi’s release and for the MPO order to be set aside. Meanwhile, Gulzar was “allegedly” abducted by the Islamabad police on August 09. A petition was later filed by her mother in the IHC on the grounds of illegal arrest and violation of Articles 4, 9, 10A and 14 of the Constitution, calling for the police to produce her daughter in court.
