IHC CJ annoyed at arrests from PTI secretariat

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has expressed its displeasure over picking up people from the PTI secretariat, saying that there should be a reason for the arrest and it cannot be made at the mere whim of investigating officer.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition of Maimoona Kamal of the PTI on Tuesday. The DIG Operations, FIA Director Cyber Crimes and Additional Attorney General appeared in the court. The chief justice said, “Can you arrest anyone without any evidence? Was it necessary to arrest all the people sitting in the PTI secretariat? Is it a crime to be in that office?” He said that the references of court decisions should be submitted to the court later, and he would issue an order on the issue of habeas corpus.

The additional attorney general said the FIA had registered a case. The chief justice said the plea was that the police and FIA had abducted the workers. The additional attorney general said that 10 men and two women were involved in the case. “The named people are under arrest and the rest have been released on personal sureties. None of the six women have been arrested, all released on personal sureties,” he added. The chief justice said that 32 people were picked up, a case was registered against 11. “21 people were illegally detained for ten hours. Overall, 32 people were picked up, did you want them all? You arrested them just on the basis of being there? If someone was waiting for someone outside the secretariat, would they have arrested him too? Were all 32 people arrested? If no arrest was made, how could 32 people be kept there for ten hours? How did you keep them there for 10 hours; isn’t it kidnapping? I close the doors of my court and do not let you go out without an order, this is not kidnapping?” he added.

The chief justice said that all the people picked up were kept in illegal detention. “If they were detained illegally, then what will be the consequences? If I am going to the road, will the police pick me up too?” he asked. Ali Bukhari Advocate told the court that the mobile phones of all the people had not been returned, to which the chief justice asked if mobile phones of the people were with the FIA. The FIA Cyber Crimes director said, “We have mobile phones of 10 people; we had to do technical analysis.”

The chief justice said under which law mobile phones of people, who had not been arrested, could be kept. “You know that keeping someone’s property is theft. That’s why we say that this country has become a police state. Shall I write that a case of theft should be registered?”