On Friday, the Peshawar High Court issued an immediate order for the release of Aftab Alam, a lawyer and election candidate for PTI from Kohat district.
The court transformed a habeas corpus petition against his arrest, initiated from the court’s premises, into a contempt plea against the relevant police officials. Expressing displeasure over the capital police’s action of taking Mr. Alam from the high court’s premises, a bench comprising Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Wiqar Ahmad instructed Peshawar’s superintendent of police (Saddar Circle) Abdul Salam and station house officer of the East Cantonment police station Asif Khan to submit their responses to the contempt petition within a week.
The next hearing is scheduled for Jan 18. The court criticized the police’s conduct of apprehending an individual without evidence, emphasizing that it is not a police state. Justice Wiqar highlighted that the Supreme Court had directed authorities not to make arrests from the court’s premises.
The court initiated contempt proceedings against the police officials involved in Aftab Alam’s detention and raised concerns about the violation of the court’s sanctity by local police. The bench observed discrepancies in the statements of Peshawar and Kohat police, questioning whether the detainee was taken away by genies, as both denied arresting him.
The court, considering the PTI lawyer’s illegal detention, decided to convert the habeas corpus petition into a contempt case, deeming the matter serious.