ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday kept the authorities from arresting Sher Afzal Marwat, the firebrand Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, without obtaining the court's permission.
Following hearing of the PTI parliamentarian's case, the IHC sent notices to the Federal Investigation Agency, inspector general of Punjab Police, inspector general of Islamabad Police and the secretary of interior ministry.
The court has directed relevant authorities to submit paragraph-wise comments on Marwat’s petition and also sought details of the cases lodged against him.
Issuing a written order on the PTI leader's plea, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz directed not to arrest the senior lawyer in any case without the court’s permission.
Marwat had filed the plea through his counsels Adil Aziz Qazi and Riasat Ali Azad.
Police on September 9 arrested PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and lawmaker Marwat from outside the Parliament House, for allegedly violating the newly enacted public gathering law during the party’s power show in the federal capital on September 8.
Marwat had resisted the arrest and asked the police to show arrest warrant.
He was arrested for violating regulations devised under a new law —Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024, and also accused of clashing with police personnel on the rally day.
It should be noted that at least 10 PTI lawmakers, who were arrested from the premises of Parliament House, were brought to the lower house on September 12 after their production orders were issued by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Speaking on the NA floor, PTI firebrand politician Marwat thanked the speaker for issuing the production orders. “The police have not returned my personal pistol and five Kalashnikov — kept in car at the time of arrest.”
Rejecting the cases registered against him, Marwat said he was booked for tearing uniform of a police officer.
The PTI had staged its much-hyped power show in Islamabad with party workers and police clashing on Chungi No 26, on the outskirts of the capital.
Heavy contingents of police were deployed outside the parliament while all entry and exit routes to the Red Zone were also closed from D-Chowk, Nadra Chowk, Serena, and Marriott, except for Margalla Road.
The sources had said that multiple PTI lawmakers, including Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Naseem-ur-Rehman and Zubair Khan had been arrested from the Parliament House.
Police had filed cases against several leaders of the Imran-founded party under newly-enacted Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024, at Noon Village and Sangjani police stations.
At least 28 local leaders including Seemabia Tahir and Raja Basharat were also nominated in the cases.