Fawad cannot be arrested for two days according to an order from the IHC.
After the court granted his release, the PTI leader hid inside the building until the police caught up with him.
The Islamabad High Court has released PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry and issued an injunction prohibiting his detention in the federal capital for the next two days on any charges, even those that have not been made public.
Fawad Chaudhry had already gone back to the Islamabad High Court for asylum shortly after being released.
The PTI leader was arrested on May 10, but on Tuesday the IHC pronounced his incarceration to be “illegal” and ordered his release.
Fawad had just been released from jail when the Islamabad police attempted to re-arrest him on the way to his car. The cops reportedly barricaded the courthouse’s entrances.
The PTI leader made a stunning U-turn and fled back inside the courthouse to avoid being apprehended.
The party’s official Twitter account made claims that the Islamabad police were making “another attempt to abduct” the former minister.
Last Monday, the police caught Fawad as he was leaving the Supreme Court (SC) premises, where he had hidden for more than 12 hours to avoid arrest.
To challenge the IHC’s order protecting party chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, he had shown up at the courthouse earlier that day. The police arrived at the courthouse shortly afterward and waited to arrest him. He spent the entire day inside the highest court and was only arrested when it was nearly dark.
IHC Justice Mian Gul Hasan Aurangzeb was considering a petition to overturn the detention. The court ordered the IG of the Islamabad police to bring him in yesterday.
Proceedings
IHC Justice Aurangzeb has requested that the attorney general of Islamabad (AGI) produce Fawad’s detention orders and read the prior IHC ruling barring his arrest at today’s sessions.
After noting that detention orders for the ex-minister had been issued on May 10, the court made some additional observations.
The judge stated, “even if we assume that the IG did not receive the IHC orders and that he does not watch the news, you should have at least looked at it when he [Fawad] presented the court orders prior to his arrest,” adding that there would be “very serious consequences” for the IG if Fawad were to be convicted.
“The district magistrate issued the arrest orders without verifying the court orders [preventing the arrest],” the court noted.
The court, according to Justice Aurangzeb, will issue a contempt of court file against the involved IG and the district magistrate.
The court stated, “I will ask all petitioners to sign an undertaking not to breach the Section 144 imposed,” and went on to say that anyone who violated the promise might be disqualified from the case.
You apply Section 144 everywhere you choose to,” he said, expressing his dismay at the clumsy way the prohibition on assembly was being enforced.
With the caveat that “if contempt of court starts in my court, then it doesn’t stop at anything,” Justice Aurangzeb gave the law enforcement officials a chance to change their minds. The judge has ordered Fawad to remain in the courtroom.
Fawad was not arrested, but rather “taken into custody” under the 3MPO (provisions for maintenance of public order), the AGI informed the court after it resumed its session.
He further claimed that no copy of the directive was given to the IG’s office or any other law enforcement officials.
According to the AGI, “if a person is arrested, they have to be presented before a magistrate within 24 hours,” and “Fawad Chaudhry was not arrested, not under any known case nor any hidden one.”
To reiterate, “he was only taken into custody,” he said. He said, “I would not have defended the state’s stance if an arrest was made after court orders barring it.”
The judge released Fawad after hearing both sides’ arguments.
Fawad makes a peace appeal
Fawad voiced concern for the current situation and said that we should strive to resolve the disagreement while speaking to journalists after the session.
He expressed alarm about the tens of thousands of arrests made across the country.
“Only if there were some semblance of law and order could we even consider moving forward,” he remarked.
He said, “How can they run such cases against their own people” when asked about the decision by military commanders to pursue charges under the Army Act.
Regrettably, “the political temperature just won’t turn down,” he said.
The PTI’s bail applications were denied by the ATC.
Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore ruled against the PTI leaders’ requests for temporary release.
Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib, MIian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, Umar Ayub Khan, and Ejaz Chaudhry were among those named alongside Fawad.
The court was hearing bail applications related to the law and order situation at Zaman Park.
However, the court did not grant temporary bail because they were not present for the hearing.
