Elahi challenges detention order in IHC

Former Punjab CM claims his detention under MPO as ‘patently illegal’

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE ':

PTI President Parvez Elahi filed a petition on Saturday in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), seeking the court's declaration of the action as “patently illegal, unlawful and without lawful authority”.

The petition, submitted by Sardar Abdul Raziq Khan on behalf of Elahi, urged the IHC to nullify the detention order and issue immediate directives for his release from custody.

The move came following the Lahore High Court's (LHC) decision the previous day, ordering the release of the former Punjab chief minister and imposing restrictions on any potential arrests by government agencies or preventive detention.

However, soon after his release from Adiala Jail, Elahi's white SUV was stopped near the FCC underpass in Islamabad by a team of Islamabad and Punjab police personnel. They swiftly transferred Elahi into an unmarked white car without a licence plate and drove him to Islamabad.

Read PBC condemns Elahi's detention, 'manhandling' as he moves IHC

Visuals of the arrest circulated widely on social media, capturing plainclothes men and uniformed Punjab policemen forcefully pulling Elahi out of his vehicle.

In his petition filed on Saturday, Elahi stated that he has been "subjected to successive arrests in a series of false and politically motivated cases". He also mentioned that Friday’s LHC order included directives to the Lahore deputy inspector general (operations) to shift Elahi to his residence under "tight security".

The petition referred to past verdicts, including a contempt notice issued by IHC Justice Babar Sattar to the city deputy commissioner on a petition filed by PTI leader Shehryar Afridi, who was eventually released on August 16.

The plea further contended that the MPO detention order was “based on vague, ambiguous, and absurd grounds”.

Elahi had been “languishing in jail for the last more than three months”, and there was no evidence that he could create a law and order situation, the petition stated.

It claimed that the case was “alien to law and fictitiously created” to further detain the petitioner and compel him to accede to unlawful demands. Moreover, the petition argued that the detention order violated the rule of law, the Constitution, and the orders of the LHC.

Section 3 of the MPO ordinance empowers the government to arrest and detain suspected individuals. It allows the government, when satisfied that it is necessary to prevent any person from acting in a manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, to direct their arrest and detention for a period of up to six months at a time.

Contempt of court petition

Meanwhile, Parvez Elahi's wife has filed a contempt of court petition in the Lahore High Court, alleging that her husband was not safely transferred home as ordered by the court.

The DIG operations, DIG investigation, and SP high court security parties have been included in the petition.

The petition was filed by Qaisara Elahi, the former chief minister's wife, who has requested the chief justice of the Lahore High Court to schedule the hearing for the same day it was filed.

The petitioner claimed that despite the court's order, Parvez Elahi was not securely transported home by the assigned police officers. She has urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the DIG operations and DIG investigation.

Justice Amjad Rafiq will hear the petition on September 4 (Monday).