Islamabad police sought to apprehend PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday, just as he was leaving court after being granted bail by the high court in the criminal arrest case, in a dramatic turn of events.
The PTI leader was on his way home when a police cruiser abruptly blocked his path, forcing him to retreat into the courthouse. The police’s indifference was reflected in the footage of Fawad Chaudhry’s haste to the courthouse, where he once fell and appeared gasping for air.
Islamabad High Court (IHC) just granted bail to PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry and released him from jail. The court further ordered that Mr. Chaudhry not be arrested for the following two days under any circumstances. The judge ruled that the PTI leader’s arrest was unjustified.
The court’s decision on the appeal challenging the former federal minister’s arrest was announced just hours after the court reserved its decision.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb issued a summons for Fawad at the commencement of the hearing. Attorney Faisal Chaudhry informed the judge that Fawad had arrived in court in a bulletproof car. The PTI chief was subsequently brought before a judge.
The judge claimed that the IG Islamabad and others had disregarded an instruction from the chief justice. The command was issued when you finally apprehended him. The order may have been verified in various ways. May 9 was not a good day, so those worries were warranted.
The court ordered the petitioners to swear off any further violations of Article 144 and the legislation or face contempt of court proceedings, which might lead to the disqualification of the petitioners’ parliamentary representatives. The judge stated that the court is allowing the district magistrate and the IGP some time to investigate.
Advocate General Islamabad said neither the IG office nor the law officers had received a copy of the court order, nor had biometrics been completed.
You’re not a judge, Justice Aurangzeb said; “we have to see whether it’s biometric or not.”
In any event, Fawad was not arrested, the advocate general hurried to add. Even if he hadn’t been detained, bringing him before a judge would have been required. The court had barred his arrest in all cases and ordered his release from custody in case of an arrest.
Adding that the PTI leader had to demonstrate via his actions that he is a peaceful citizen after the country lost billions of rupees in the May 9 mayhem, he said that the DC was not a party even in the petition that the court barred from detaining.
According to Justice Aurangzeb, the court is not preventing any legal action from being taken against Fawad.
Fawad Chaudhry told the judge that he spent all of May 9 at the Supreme Court and the following days there.
According to the AG, the court cited the MPO while stopping Imran Khan’s arrest. If they had prevented Khan’s arrest in two separate instances, he might have been taken into custody under the MPO.
Advocate Babar Awan argued that the court should prolong the order to stop the arrest of Fawad and give him time to approach the relevant court because the DC had just learned of the IHC’s judgment.
The judge wanted to know if anything was presented to the police to prevent the arrest of Fawad. Babar Awan said that when the order was announced, the police officer indicated he didn’t understand English. He also said there was no basis for the worries about Fawad’s arrest.
According to Justice Aurangzeb, the events of [May 9] should be taken seriously. The fact that Fawad Chaudhry has served as a federal minister makes him a significant figure.
Ignorant of the mob mentality in Pakistan, right? Do you mean for only the most upstanding citizens to take to the streets when you say “take to the streets”? The judge said, “At this point, does the District Magistrate have any choice but to issue this order?” My issue is that I am too forthright and honest. They wanted to release Fawad Chaudhry, which is why he was brought before the court, but “this court has not seen this material before,” he said.
In an earlier press conference, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry questioned the military’s promise to bring all those responsible for the carnage on May 9 to justice by using the Pakistan Army Act to try thousands of individuals.
While being questioned by reporters upon his arrival at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Fawad said, “How would they pursue the cases against eight to ten thousand people?”