Islamabad police ordered to release Pervez Elahi
Ex-Punjab chief minister was rearrested after his release by NAB in Lahore on Sept 1.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday suspended the detention of PTI President and former Punjab chief minister Pwevez Elahi under 3-MPO (Maintenance of Public Order) and ordered his release.
Mr Elahi was rearrested under 3-MPO by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police shortly after being released by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the direction of Lahore High Court (LHC) on September 1.
The PTI president had filed a petition in the IHC against his arrest by Islamabad police under 3-MPO.
IHC Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri heard the plea that sought the declaration of Elahi’s detention under the 3-MPO order “null and void”.
The 3-MPO order was issued by the district magistrate of Islamabad.
According to the capital police, Elahi was taken into custody on orders of the district magistrate under Section 3 of the MPO.
Section 3 of MPO empowers the government to arrest and detain suspected persons.
It states: “The government, if satisfied that with a view to preventing any person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, it is necessary to do, may, by an order in writing, direct the arrest and detention in such custody […] and [the] government, if satisfied that for the aforesaid reasons, it is necessary so to do, may extend from time to time the period of such detention, for a period not exceeding six months at a time.”
Subsequently, Elahi — who was moved to Attock jail — had approached the IHC against his detention, urging the court to declare it as “patently illegal, unlawful and without lawful authority”.
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