HC Declares PTI Leader Shireen Mazari's Arrest 'Unlawful'

IHC Declares Arrest of PTI Leader Shireen Mazari 'Unlawful' The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the arrest of former federal minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shireen Mazari was 'unlawful.' Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the IHC announced the reserved decision, declaring Mazari's arrest by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Department on May 21, 2022, illegal. "The arrest was carried out without legal justification," remarked Justice Kayani. The court ordered the Establishment Division secretary and the Punjab Home Department to investigate the matter. Additionally, the court nullified the commission's report regarding her arrest, mandating a thorough review of the procedures followed during Mazari's detention. Mazari's Arrests Mazari was initially arrested on May 12, 2022, under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (3MPO). After securing bail from the Lahore High Court (LHC), she was re-arrested outside her residence in Islamabad by the Punjab police. Mazari’s lawyer, Barrister Ahsan J. Pirzada, confirmed her re-arrest, stating in a tweet that the former human rights minister had been arrested for the “fourth time” in ten days. Earlier, on March 19, a Special Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued arrest warrants for several top PTI leaders, including more than two dozen current and former assembly members, in connection with violent attacks on sensitive state installations on May 9 of the previous year. Mazari was among those to whom the warrants were issued. All the leaders were charged with conspiracy in cases registered at RA Bazaar, Race Course, New Town, Civil Lines, Sadiqabad, and other police stations.