The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to the city police chief, chief commissioner, deputy commissioner (DC) and other officials on pleas filed by PTI leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar Khan against their ongoing detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

Afridi was first arrested on May 16 from his Islamabad residence under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960. He was rearrested on May 30 under the same section soon after his release from prison.

On August 3, Afridi was granted bail by the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench but was later picked up by the Rawalpindi police soon after his release from Adiala jail. A petition was subsequently filed by his lawyer in the IHC calling for Afridi’s release and for the MPO order to be set aside

Meanwhile, Gulzar was “allegedly” abducted by the Islamabad police on August 9. A petition was later filed by her mother in the IHC on the grounds of illegal arrest and violation of Articles 4, 9, 10A and 14 of the Constitution, calling for the police to produce her daughter in court.

IHC Justice Babar Sattar took up petitions filed by Afridi and Gulzar today. Advocate Sher Afzal Khan Marwat presented the case for the two detained PTI leaders.

During the hearing on Afridi’s petition, as the state counsel read out the detention order for the PTI leader, the judge inquired about the instances where Afridi “incited people”.

“You have to give reasons if you have to detain a citizen,” Justice Sattar pointed out.

Later in a court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Justice Sattar noted that from perusing the case record it appeared that the Islamabad district magistrate had passed the impugned order for the PTI leader’s detention on the basis of “extraneous considerations”.

“The requests initiated by police officials that the learned state counsel has read out are bald allegations with no details and including no material on the basis of which jurisdiction could be exercised under Section 3 of MPO.

“On the basis of such material alone no reasonable person can be satisfied that it is necessary to detain the petitioner while curbing his fundamental rights,” it reads.

The impugned order, the court went on to say, “itself states that the petitioner is liable for inciting general public and has been found planning an attack on District Courts Islamabad”.

“This ground is quite extra-ordinary as in the event that the police had reliable information that the petitioner was liable for planning an attack on District Courts, the person involved ought to have been charged for an offence instead of being detained under a law meant to prevent a breach of public order in the future,” the order stated.

It added that the district magistrate’s detention order was passed on a “bald request” by the police with “no application of mind or without satisfaction with regard to the necessity of detaining the petitioner against whom multiple orders by three different high courts have declared such orders illegal”.

The judge ordered the district magistrate the appear before the IHC tomorrow (Wednesday) to satisfy the court that the detention order was in accordance with the law.

The court order further said that the judge found it appropriate to issue show-case notices to the Margalla station house officer, Islamabad district police officer, Islamabad senior superintendent of police (operations) (SSP) and the district magistrate for “criminal contempt of court for abuse of authority to obstruct dispensation of justice and cause diversion to the course of justice”.

“Let them show cause within a period of 24 hours through written replies as to why they should not be punished by the court for obstruction of justice, undermining the fundamental rights of a citizen, and bringing into disrepute the authority and ability of the justice system to dispense justice in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

“Let the district magistrate also bring the record of all the orders that have been passed by him under the MPO over the last three months,” the court order reads.

It also directed the Islamabad chief commissioner and inspector general of police (IGP) to appear in person before the court for Wednesday’s hearing, along with ensuring Afridi’s presence as well.

Separately, the court order on Gulzar’s petition also directed for her to be produced in court at 10am tomorrow and instructed the district magistrate to bring the record of all MPO orders passed in the last three months.

The district magistrate, IGP and SSP were also ordered to appear in court.