Commission finds Shireen Mazari’s arrest according to law

LAHORE: A commission formed by the Federal Ministry of Interior on the orders of Islamabad High Court has declared Shireen Mazari’s arrest at the hands of the Islamabad police and Anti-Corruption Establishment, Punjab, to be in accordance with the law.

According to documents, the commission, headed by former Law Secretary Justice (retd) Abdul Shakoor Paracha, which included former Federal Secretary Saifullah Chattha and former IG Police Naeem Ahmed Khan as members, concluded the inquiry. The commission said it had come to the conclusion after reviewing the record that her arrest was according to the law.

However, the commission also mentioned some irregularities on the part of the anti-corruption authorities and Islamabad police. It said the process of complying with the summons was not completed properly. Dr. Shireen Mazari lived in Islamabad and the summons should have been served in Islamabad. The commission also said that Dr. Shireen Mazari was to be produced before the magistrate after being arrested and given medical treatment for remand, but this process was also not completed.

When contacted, anti-corruption officials said that the address on Dr. Shireen Mazari’s identity card was of Rojhan, so the anti-corruption JIT complied with the summons from Dr. Shireen Mazari’s secretary in Rojhan. The officials said that when their team had conducted the medical examination of Dr. Shireen Mazari after her arrest from Islamabad, the team received a call from the relevant SHO of Islamabad police that an angry crowd had come out after the news of her arrest on social media.

After this information, the anti-corruption officials took her to the Police Lines instead of the magistrate to take remand. The anti-corruption officials said that their legal wing had decided to file a request for early hearing in the pending case regarding her arrest in the Lahore High Court Multan Bench through the Advocate General Punjab this week.