LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday temporarily restrained the deputy commissioners (DCs) in Punjab from issuing further detention orders under section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance 1960.

Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq passed the order while hearing a petition by PTI leader

Zainab Umair and others, challenging detention orders of the party workers/leaders since

May 9 riots and the alleged abuse of powers by the DCs in the province.

Advocate Azhar Siddique, the counsel for the petitioners, told the media outside the court that the judge also suspended the operation of the section 3 of the MPO, summoning a detailed report from the government by Dec 5.

In June, a report submitted by the Punjab chief secretary in the court had revealed that 3,511 out of 4,770 “miscreants” detained under the MPO in the province since May 9 riots had been released.

The report said as many as 3,232 detention orders had been issued against 4,770 persons in the whole province.

However, it said, 3,511 detainees had been released following the withdrawal of their detention orders.

The report further said that the provincial government had delegated its powers under section 26 of the MPO Ordinance 1960 to the DCs, through a notification in 2017, to issue detention orders subject to reasonable restriction.

Advocate Siddique argued that the government issued “wholesale” detention orders of the PTI leaders and workers under sections 3 and 16 of the MPO in the wake of May 9 episode.

He alleged that the DCs, at the behest of the provincial government, misused their powers and issued detention orders for hundreds of political leaders/activists affiliated to the petitioner’s party (PTI) without any reason.

The counsel questioned raids on the residences of the party workers/leaders and ransacking of their properties, if the purpose of the orders was preventive detention.

He pointed out that the Islamabad High Court had already declared the use of MPO unlawful in the capital territory limits.

He asked the court to declare section 3 of the Punjab MPO Ordinance 1960 ultra vires to the Constitution.

Journalist freed: A judicial magistrate at district courts on Friday discharged journalist Faraz Nizam from a case registered by the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for ‘offensive’ reporting of a crime incident.

The FIA had detained the journalist the other day when he appeared before it to join an investigation.

The agency presented Nizam before the court of Judicial Magistrate Naeem Bakhsh to obtain his remand.

Advocate Zain Qureshi, appearing on behalf of the journalist, argued that despite registration of a frivolous case, the FIA had yet to provide an official copy of the FIR, casting doubts on the charges.

The magistrate expressed displeasure, noting that this was a recurring practice by the FIA. He remarked that in six previous cases, the suspects had also been denied FIR copies by the agency.

The counsel argued that that everyone had a fundamental right to access the charges against them. He said the sections of the laws applied in the FIR were irrelevant as the journalist’s video recording contained nothing that could justify the charges.

The magistrate, observing that the police officers appeared in the video as well, questioned if they were similarly listed as suspects. The FIA’s counsel failed to respond.

Advocate Qureshi further argued that the footage predated the high court ruling that the FIA referenced, meaning retroactive charges would be legally invalid. He asked the magistrate to discharge the journalist rather than sending him on judicial remand.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, the magistrate discharged Faraz Nizam from the case.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024