LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices to the deputy commissioner and police in response to a petition challenging the detention of Sher Afzal Marwat, the Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Marwat was arrested outside the LHC during a protest, with footage showing police dragging him away. The arrest was made under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), which allows the police to detain individuals deemed prejudicial to public safety or public order.
PTI leaders and lawyers’ bodies strongly criticized Marwat’s arrest, holding the caretaker government responsible for facilitating “unabated lawlessness.” Marwat’s brother filed a petition in the LHC seeking the quashing of the detention orders, alleging political vendetta and requesting the court to declare the arrest illegal.
The petition named several authorities, including the Lahore deputy commissioner, inspector general of police, and others as respondents. It argued that Marwat’s detention was politically motivated and demanded his release until the petition’s disposal. LHC Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhary issued notices to the deputy commissioner and other respondents, seeking their responses.
Sher Afzal Marwat, also a counsel for former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gained prominence for his impassioned addresses at PTI events.
He had accused the police of attempting to abduct him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Dir district, leading the Peshawar High Court to order the KP government not to arrest Marwat in four recently registered cases against him. One case involved allegations of inciting the public against state institutions through social media.
