Advocate general put on notice on plea against detention of BYC leader

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued notice to the Sindh advocate general on a petition against the detention of Baloch Yakjehti Committee leader Sammi Deen Baloch under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

Baloch was detained under the MPO for 30 days after a local court discharged her and four others in a case pertaining to violating the Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The five activists were arrested and booked by the Artillery Maidan police under the Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code for violating the Section 144 after the group staged a protest.

The petitioner’s counsel, Jibran Nasir, submitted that the MPO was illegal and the petitioner had nothing to do with any criminal activities and could not be detained under the MPO for merely holding protest demonstrations.

He said the impugned detention order was issued without assigning any justified reasons and requested the court to set aside the detention order. He submitted that the detention was motivated by mala fide intent and executed in an arbitrary and unlawful manner.

The counsel submitted that the Section 3(1) of the MPO explicitly states that only the government, if satisfied, may direct the arrest and detention of an individual, however, the impugned MPO order did not bear the decision or approval of the provincial cabinet rendering it ultra vires the law.

He said the impugned MPO order was not based on any reasonable apprehension of public disorder as required under the MPO but rather an extraneous and political consideration to suppress dissent.

The counsel submitted that the petitioner was political and human right activists raising voice against enforced disappearances of citizens and requested the court to set aside the impugned MPO order and order her release.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput after a preliminary hearing of the petition issued notices to the advocate general and called the comments on April 7. The high court also granted the counsel’s request for permission to meet the detainee in jail for consultations.

The Sindh government had ordered the detention of five people, including Sammi Deen Baloch, for 30 days in view of the possibility they could incite the public to protest and block roads. Officials said that on the recommendation of IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon, the five BYC activists were detained in view of the law and order situation.