IHC bars govt from arresting PTI leaders

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday directed the government not to harass the PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry and others in connection with several blasphemy cases registered against following hooliganism by unknown individuals at Masjid-e-Nabwi last week. The court directed interior secretary to make sure that the PTI leader was not harassed by the police or any other investigation agency. The court also stopped the government from taking further action against the PTI leader till the next hearing. A copy of the orders was also sent to the National Assembly Secretariat. Justice Athar Minallah asked whether Fawad was still a member of the National Assembly. His counsel Faisal Chaudhry said Fawad had resigned but he had not been denotified. Justice Minallah said the police could not arrest a lawmaker without permission of the speaker. In a comment on several cases against the PTI leaders, Chaudhry said as per a ruling by a seven-member bench, the police could not register multiple FIRs in a single incident. He said the incident happened at Masjid-e-Nabwi while the FIRs were registered in Pakistan. The CJ said the court would issue directives to the Islamabad police that came under the court jurisdiction, says a news report. Meanwhile, the IHC also stopped the government from arresting Shahbaz Gill on his return from the United States. Gill is likely to return to Pakistan on May 4 as per his lawyer. The counsel representing Gill said the government had filed cases against his client to settle political scores. In his plea, Gill had said he was “falsely implicated in the FIR in order to harass, pressurize, blackmail, and humiliate” him. Earlier in the day, the PTI filed a petition with the IHC seeking intervention of the court to end “harassment” by the state authorities after the registration of multiple cases against PTI leadership, including Chairman Imran Khan. The FIRs were lodged on Sunday against former premier Imran and other top leaders of the party in Faisalabad and other cities of Punjab over their alleged involvement in the Masjid-e-Nabwi incident where some Pakistani pilgrims shouted slogans against the new government and ridiculed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal ministers. The petition filed by PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry requested the high court to issue directions to the state authorities, including the police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to “immediately stop the unlawful and illegal harassment of the petitioner and his colleagues”. It also sought the placement on record of all the FIRs registered in the various parts of the country against the petitioner and others on the issue of alleged blasphemy at Masjid-e-Nabwi. It requested the high court to stop the police and FIA from “violating and disrespecting the privacy, honour of the families, and households of the petitioner and preserve the sanctity thereof”. The authorities should inform “the petitioner of the grounds and reasons for the registration of criminal cases against them, to ensure his fundamental rights to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. And further to satisfy this august court before lodging any action against the petitioner”. In his plea, Fawad said the FIRs against the PTI leadership violated Article 4 (Right of Individuals to be dealt with in accordance with law), Article 5 (loyalty to the state), Article 17 (freedom of association), Article 19, 19-A (right to information), and Article 68 of the Constitution. “The petitioner, like millions of other[s], came to know about the incident through social media. Therefore, in a most unfortunate and clumsy manner, the ruling party (that is hell-bent to sort out the petitioner and his party leadership, including the former prime minister, Imran Khan) in a malafide intention started a vilification campaign against them in an effort to equal the political score […].” Fawad claimed that the government was unnerved by the PTI’s announcement regarding a long march and, “acting in a hysteric manner”, falsely implicated him, former PM Imran, former interior minister Sheikh Rashid, former NA deputy speaker Qasim Suri, PTI leader Shahbaz Gill and others. The petition urged the court to direct the respondents to “immediately stop the unlawful and illegal harassment of the petitioner and his colleagues […] in the interest of justice equity and fair play.” It also called for placing all the FIRs registered against the PTI leadership in various parts of the country on record. Further, it called on the court to inform Fawad of the grounds and reasons for the registration of the criminal cases against the PTI leadership to “ensure his fundamental right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner”. The plea urged the court to strictly implement the judgment laid down by the Supreme Court in the “Sughran Bibi Vs the state” case of 2018 where the apex court ruled that there must be one FIR of a crime or incident. The petition urged the court to hold the action of the FIA and the police as “illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional”. Interior secretary, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, police chiefs of all provinces and the FIA director general were made respondents in the petition that termed the action against PTI leaders “mala fide”.