IHC stops police from arresting Marwat

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday barred law enforcement agencies from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat in any case without prior permission.

After hearing the plea filed by the PTI parliamentarian, the IHC issued notices to the interior secretary, Islamabad Inspector General Police, Punjab Inspector General Police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The court directed the relevant authorities to submit paragraph-wise comments on Marwat’s petition and sought details of the cases registered against him.

Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz issued a written order on the PTI leader’s plea that Marwat, a senior lawyer, must not be arrested without the court’s approval. Marwat had filed the petition through his counsel Adil Aziz Qazi and Riasat Ali Azad. Police had arrested PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and lawmaker Marwat outside the Parliament House on September 9, alleging they violated the newly enacted public gathering law during the party’s power show in the federal capital on September 8. Marwat resisted the arrest, demanding to see the arrest warrants. He was detained for violating regulations under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024 and was also accused of clashing with police personnel during the rally.