Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court issued stern remarks during a hearing on a petition challenging the raids and arrests at the PTI Secretariat. He stated that the country has become a police state where the police do whatever they please, and people do not take action according to the law in a police state.
Case Proceedings
In response to a court summons, the DIG Islamabad Police and Director FIA Cyber Crime appeared. The Additional Attorney General informed the court that they had registered a case and made some arrests. He mentioned that two women and nine men are currently in custody. Chief Justice Farooq asked whether anyone had arrested the women named in the case and who had released them on personal sureties. The Additional Attorney General said that they had released six women on personal sureties.
Chief Justice’s Remarks
Chief Justice Aamer Farooq questioned whether it was necessary to arrest all individuals present at the PTI Secretariat. He asked whether merely being in that office constituted a crime and questioned if they would have arrested Advocate Ali Bukhari had he been present there. Ali Bukhari noted that they even took the water dispenser from the party secretariat. The Chief Justice then questioned whether taking the water dispenser was necessary.
Illegal Detention and Mobile Phones
Chief Justice Farooq highlighted the implications of illegal detentions and questioned the legality of holding people without proper charges. He asked what the consequences would be if someone illegally detained someone and raised the concern that the police could detain anyone on the street without justification. The Director of Cyber Crime said they held the mobile phones of 10 individuals and would return them. The Chief Justice asked which law the authorities were using to keep the mobile phones of individuals who had not been arrested. The Director of FIA replied that they were conducting a technical analysis.
Adjournment of the Hearing
The Chief Justice ordered the return of all items belonging to individuals and adjourned the hearing, not setting a new date.
Key Points
- Severe criticism of police actions
- Questions about illegal detentions and arrests
- Order to return confiscated mobile phones
- No new date has been set for the next hearing
This case is significant for protecting legal and human rights in Pakistan. The outcomes of this hearing could have far-reaching implications.
