Shehryar Afridi rearrested despite LHC’s release order

The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi registry on Thursday ordered the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shehryar Khan Afridi, his brother Farrukh Afridi, Nadia Hussain, and Shah Jahan, declaring their detention as illegal, Express News reported.

However, the senior PTI leader was rearrested shortly after being freed from the prison.

Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu, while hearing relevant petitions, deemed the 15-day detention orders of all four PTI leaders by the Deputy Commissioner as unlawful and unconstitutional, stating that the court will not permit anyone to take illegal and unconstitutional actions.

The court also granted protective bail to Shehryar Afridi in the wheat theft case registered at Bahawalpur police station.

Police personnel were on alert outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi before the release of Afridi. DSP New Town had arrived on the scene with a heavy contingent of police. PTI supporters were also present.

Read more: Afridi distances himself from Sana’s arrest

However, as soon as Afridi came out of jail, he was arrested again.

The PTI leader was taken into custody on May 16 from his residence in Islamabad under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960. This ordinance grants the government the authority to arrest individuals.

Shortly after his release from prison in Rawalpindi on May 30, Afridi was rearrested under the same MPO law. The city police officer accused Afridi of "instigating/planning to organise an unlawful assembly/commit violence, delivering unlawful speeches to cause harm to human life and public/private properties."

Although the Islamabad High Court (IHC) overturned the orders for his detention on June 6, Afridi allegedly remained confined in a death cell at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.