Islamabad High Court summons police chief — Dawn
The Islamabad High Court in Pakistan has summoned the senior superintendent of police for operations for September 24 in a case concerning the alleged harassment of PTI leaders and raids on their homes ahead of the party’s planned march to the capital. Dawn reports.
Judge Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas heard a petition filed by PTI representatives, including Malik Amir Dogar and Shoaib Shaheen. Their lawyer said police had allegedly conducted unlawful raids on the homes of party leaders. He stressed that searches require proper legal grounds and asked the court to prevent violations of the inviolability of homes and families’ privacy.
Petition concerning a PTI lawmaker
Separately, the court received a petition seeking to establish the whereabouts of PTI National Assembly member Sanaullah Mastikhel. His relative, M. Kashif, claims that on the evening of September 20, the lawmaker was taken from the parliamentary lodges by people who identified themselves as security personnel.
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According to the petitioner, these people did not show an arrest warrant, a first information report, or any other document that could serve as legal grounds for detention. The petition also states that the police and administration did not provide information about Mastikhel’s whereabouts. PTI had previously said that five of its lawmakers were taken from the parliamentary lodges, while another member of a provincial assembly had gone missing.
Lawyers’ complaints and contempt of court petition
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association condemned what it described as repeated harassment, intimidation, and alleged unlawful detentions of lawyers by police. The organization called on the Islamabad inspector general of police and senior officers to intervene, restrain their subordinates, and investigate complaints of misconduct.
Local trader Wakkas Ahmed also filed a petition to initiate contempt of court proceedings against PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar. The petitioner claims that Akbar’s statements about the upcoming march allegedly contradicted a court ruling of September 14. It states that political parties and their leaders have no legal right to occupy roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas, and buildings in Islamabad if this obstructs access to educational and medical institutions. Akbar rejected the criticism, saying that his words had been misinterpreted.
