ISLAMABAD: In a case involving the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Shireen Mazari, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a notice of contempt to the federal capital’s inspector general (IG) on Tuesday.
The court was hearing a petition in which the petitioner requested that the IGP of Islamabad be made a party to the case. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb accepted the plea and served the IGP with a notice. The hearing was postponed until May 25.
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Mazari was arrested outside Adiala Jail for the fourth time in 10 days on Monday, despite being released on court orders.
“72-year-old Dr Shireen Mazari arrested by Punjab Police for the fourth time in 10 days. We have no idea where they have taken her. This is the second time she has been arrested from outside Adiala Jail as soon as the Court ordered her release [sic],” wrote her lawyer on Twitter.
72 year old Dr. @ShireenMazari1 arrested by Punjab Police for the fourth time in 10 days. We have no idea where they have taken her. This is the second time she has been arrested from outside Adiala Jail as soon as the Court ordered her release. @ImaanZHazir#ReleaseShireenMazari
— Barrister Ahsan J. Pirzada (@AhsanJPirzada) May 22, 2023
Mazari’s release had been ordered by the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court. The former federal minister has been arrested several times recently under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1960.
Imaan Mazari, a human rights lawyer and activist who is also representing the former minister, has accused the authorities of torture and violations of human rights.
Mazari’s lawyers claim that this is the second time in a row that he has been arrested after being released from Adiala Jail on court orders.
Meanwhile, PTI chairperson and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned Mazari’s arrest, calling it an attempt to “break her spirit.”
“This regime is sinking to new lows. Her health is fragile…Shireen won’t break as she has more courage than most people I have come across in my life. However, the country is rapidly descending towards becoming a Banana republic where might is right.”
Strongly condemn Shireen Mazari's arrest from outside Adiala after her release orders were issued by the court.
This regime is sinking to new lows . Her health is fragile and subjecting her to this ordeal by rearresting her despite courts giving her bail is simply trying to break…— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2023
Other PTI leaders are currently going through a similar ordeal, being forced to circle courts in order to obtain bail, which is then ignored by law enforcement personnel who make new arrests in other cases filed against them.
