TLP moves PHC against detention of 133 members

PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Monday moved the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the detention of its 133 members.The TLP provincial chief, Falak Niaz, filed the writ petition through his lawyer Yousaf Ali.

The Ministry of Interior through federal secretary, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department through secretary Home, Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through chief secretary, the secretary establishment and superintendents of Central Prison in Peshawar, Haripur, Dera Ismail Khan and Mardan were made parties to the petition.

The writ petition claimed that members of TLP including Raiz, son of Gul Faraz of Salarzai Rajar and 132 others from different districts including Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and Nowshera had been arrested and kept in detention.

The petitioner claimed the detainees were illegally arrested by the respondents during raids on their houses at midnight. It was submitted that whereabouts of the detainees were not known to their families. “The petitioner has time and again asked the respondents for showing the grounds of arrest and the detention of the TLP members, but to no avail,” explained the petition. It added that the respondents were not giving the reasons for the arrest. It was further submitted that the respondents also refused to give information as to where they have been kept after the arrest. In the petition, it was claimed that the detainees were living peacefully. It said that there was no first information report against the TLP members to-date. Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, it said the respondents are bound to give information to the petitioner or their family members about the detainees. It said respondents were violating Article 10-A of the Constitution wherein a fair trial was the fundamental right of every accused, whereas the detainees were deprived of it. It was prayed in the petition to direct the respondents to recover the detainees/members of the TLP from “illegal and unlawful detention”. The petitioner also requested the court to restrain the respondents from arresting and detaining the TLP members.