IHC Grants Protective Bail to Sher Afzal Marwat, Bars Arrest
Judge directs authorities not to arrest politico in any case.
ISLAMABAD_The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped law enforcers from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat without permission in any case. The court issued notices to the Ministry of Interior secretary, Islamabad inspector general, Punjab inspector general, and Federal Investigation Agency, seeking paragraph-wise comments on Marwat’s petition and details of cases lodged against him.
Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz directed that Marwat not be arrested in any case without the court’s permission. The PTI leader had filed a plea through his counsels, Adil Aziz Qazi and Riasat Ali Azad, after his arrest on September 9 outside the Parliament House for allegedly violating the newly enacted public gathering law during the party’s power show in Islamabad.
Marwat was accused of clashing with police personnel and violating regulations devised under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024. He was among at least 10 PTI lawmakers arrested from the premises of Parliament House, who were later brought to the lower house on September 12 after their production orders were issued by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Sher Afzal Marwat Arrested While Dressed in Police Uniform
Marwat thanked the speaker for issuing the production orders and rejected the cases registered against him, claiming he was booked for tearing a police officer’s uniform. He also alleged that the police had not returned his personal pistol and five Kalashnikovs, which were in his car at the time of arrest.
September 8 arrests
The PTI had staged its much-hyped power show in Islamabad with party workers and police clashing on Chungi No 26, on the outskirts of the capital.
Heavy contingents of police were deployed outside the parliament while all entry and exit routes to the Red Zone were also closed from D-Chowk, Nadra Chowk, Serena, and Marriott, except for Margalla Road.
The sources had said that multiple PTI lawmakers, including Zain Qureshi, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Naseem-ur-Rehman and Zubair Khan had been arrested from the Parliament House.
Police had filed cases against several leaders of the Imran-founded party under newly-enacted Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024, at Noon Village and Sangjani police stations.
At least 28 local leaders including Seemabia Tahir and Raja Basharat were also nominated in the cases.
