The Islamabad High Court has sentenced the capital’s deputy commissioner (DC), Irfan Nawaz Memon, to six months’ imprisonment in a contempt of court case. The court found the DC guilty of misconduct for taking actions beyond his authority. Additionally, the Islamabad police SSP (operations) received a four-month imprisonment sentence along with a fine of Rs100,000, while the Saddar SP was acquitted of contempt charges. SHO Nasir Manzoor was also sentenced to two months in jail and fined Rs100,000. The court suspended the sentences for a month, stating that if not appealed within 30 days, the officials would be arrested.

The contempt of court case arose from show-cause notices issued to the officials over the repeated detentions of PTI leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar in September of the previous year under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). The court had withdrawn a second show-cause notice on Tuesday but rejected the DC’s request for exemption from appearance on March 1.

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Earlier, the IHC had barred DC Memon from traveling abroad for Umrah and issued him a show-cause notice, rejecting his unconditional apology for flouting court orders. The sentencing reflects the court’s stance on officials exceeding their authority and flouting court directives.