ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is likely to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the officials of the capital police for their failure to take custody of PTI leader Shehryar Afridi, who is being kept in the death cell at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, despite court orders to the contrary.

Mr Afridi’s counsel, who met the detained leader before appearing in court, said the former minister was held in the notorious cell where Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of former governor of Punjab Salman Taseer, was detained.

He termed this a violation of the court’s June 5 order, when Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir directed jail authorities to shift Mr Afridi to a better class.

Justice Tahir also directed the Aabpara and Industrial Area Police to take Mr Afridi into custody in connection with pending FIRs to bring him under the territorial jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court.

Judge slams police for ‘bureaucratic tactics’; lawyer claims former minister has been denied basic facilities

However, when Justice Tahir resumed hearing of the case, the investigation officers from Aabpara and Industrial Area police stations informed him that they had submitted written requests to the Punjab Home Department for custody of Mr Afridi, but were still awaiting a reply.

The state’s counsel sought more time for compliance with the court’s order.

Justice Tahir expressed displeasure over the response of the police, saying that his previous order was “unambiguous”.

“The issuance of letters from one office to another office without active and meaningful attempts to comply with the order of this court is obsolete bureaucratic tactic to shift liability from one corner to another. The fact is that defiance of order passed by this court still continues and non-compliance has exposed the concerned police hierarchy from investigation officer to the inspector general of police to proceedings under the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003.”

The court directed the state counsel to submit list of the officers from investigation officers to the inspector general “so as to determine the liability of defiance on their parts as well”. The court would also consider summoning the inspector general of police in person at the next hearing, the judge said, before adjourning the matter till June 19.

Most notorious death cell

After meeting with him, Mr Afridi’s lawyer Sher Afzal Khan Marwat described the conditions under which he was being held.

“Today, I met Shehryar Afridi in jail, and to my shock, I learned that... the jail authorities, under the DC Islamabad directions, shifted him to the most notorious death cell, which was previously occupied by Mumtaz Qadri before being hanged,” Mr Marwat said.

He stated that Mr Afridi was still in solitary confinement, without a toilet, and had consistently been denied a pillow, cushion, or foam for sleeping or resting. He claimed that before placing Mr Afridi in the death cell, the jail authorities had also placed AIDS-affected and TB patients in the same cell.

It may be recalled that that under the previous PTI regime, incumbent Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was also held in a death cell, and Mr Afridi was the state minister for interior at the time.

Mr Marwat claimed that Mr Afridi was grieved over the passing away of his elder brother and expressed his wish to have seen the deceased at least once before burial.

“Today, I found him very tense and deeply concerned about the safety of his young daughters and spouse,” he added.

Mr Afridi’s counsel went on to say that he looked pale and physically weak and gave him a message for PTI chairman Imran Khan.

Mr Afridi also complained about the lack of essential healthcare facilities, the counsel said.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2023