Move on Pakistan party case: AG saves the day for capital police

Says police came to know about Kamran’s arrest through media

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad advocate general came to rescue of the capital police after the senior superintendent of police (operations) could not provide satisfactory answers to the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s queries regarding the arrest of chairperson of the Move on Pakistan (MOP) party.

The Advocate General (Islamabad), Abdul Rauf, appeared before a single bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and informed that neither the MOP Chairperson, Mohammad Kamran, was arrested by the Islamabad police nor was he in their custody, in any case.

He said capital police came to know about Kamran’s arrest through media.

While countering the claim, the petitioner MOP official Ali Raza’s counsel Sardar Taimoor Aslam contended that he was ready to submit affidavits declaring that Kamran was arrested from a guest house in Islamabad, and the police tore up the protective bail orders of the IHC when shown at the time of arrest.

As per the telephonic information, the AG maintained that Kamran was arrested from Chiniot Bazaar, Faisalabad, in another case and the Punjab police had already taken his remand from a district court.

To this, Aslam said that the protective bail was effective for the whole country and “the respondents have committed grave contempt by defying court’s orders,” adding that Kamran was in “unjustified detention” as he was granted transitory bail till July 22. Yet the police arrested and obtained his remand, he added.

Aslam reiterated that the court was being misled and the information regarding his arrest from a bazaar in Faisalabad was not correct.

Earlier, the SSP, Sajid Kiani, along with the Secretariat Police SHO appeared before the court on behalf of the IGP in compliance with the court orders directing the top cop of the capital to appear before the court for deliberately defying court orders in the controversial banners case.

The case was over the party’s putting up of banners in major cities allegedly calling for the army chief to impose martial law in the country.

The party has denied this, and claims the text on the banners was being interpreted out of context. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, following the arguments noted that the “controversial question” regarding Kamran’s arrest requires inquiry.

Subsequently, court directed IGP to submit a report regarding raids, arrest and remand of Kamran in seven days.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2016.