LHC issues show-cause notice to Islamabad chief commissioner for contempt
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice for contempt of court to the Islamabad Chief Commissioner (CC) Mohammad Anwarul Haq while hearing a plea for PTI President Parvez Elahi’s production in court and release.
It comes a day after the LHC had ordered the city’s CC and Inspector General (IG) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan — who had already been issued a show-cause notice on Monday — to appear before the court along with Elahi.
A day ago, the PTI president was rearrested once again hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended his detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance and directed his release.
He has now been arrested at least 11 times in various cases since the start of June and after a statewide crackdown was launched against the PTI in the aftermath of the May 9 violence.
The posts on X (formerly Twitter) by the Islamabad police announcing Elahi’s release and his subsequent re-arrest in another case have a time difference of a mere eight minutes.
The police said Elahi was detained in a case registered at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station.
The PTI shared footage of Elahi’s arrest and criticised the authorities for his latest arrest.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IHC had suspended Elahi’s detention orders, under which he was re-arrested from outside his residence hours after the LHC had ordered that the PTI leader be released. The LHC had also issued a restraining order against his possible arrest by any agency or preventive detention.
Today, Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf took up the habeas corpus petition, filed by Elahi’s wife Qaisera Elahi, and disposed of it declaring it infructuous.
The hearing
At the outset of the hearing, Judge Rauf wondered what action could be taken after “yesterday’s developments”, while noting that only contempt of court proceedings could be initiated against the police officers involved.
Qaisera’s lawyer asserted: “The court order was defied by arresting Parvez Elahi. The court had ordered that Parvez Elahi shall not be arrested in any case. Basic rights are being violated here.”
To this, the judge replied: “The detention matter went to the Islamabad High Court, from where the release order was issued. After this, he was arrested in an FIR. On the FIR’s matter, it now falls under the Islamabad High Court’s jurisdiction.”
“The contempt of court matter can be proceeded with here,” Judge Rauf noted, to which the lawyer said that the court had Elahi’s custody and action was being taken in violation of court orders.
At this point during the hearing, the Islamabad advocate general appeared before the court and informed it that the city police chief could not come there as he had to appear before the Supreme Court.
He further informed the court that similarly, CC Haq had been summoned by the IHC, which is why he could not come to the LHC today.
When Judge Rauf asked him why the CC did not appear before the LHC, the advocate general responded that the IHC’s summon order was present from before.
“Fine, we’ll look into it,” the judge said.
Here, Qaisera’s counsel once again recalled the LHC order barring authorities from arresting Elahi in any case, to which Judge Rauf replied, “The FIR was registered in Islamabad so how could this court interfere?
The lawyer argued, “This is ill intent from the Islamabad police. They release [Elahi] in one case and arrest him in another.”
When the judge inquired about why the order to present Elahi before the court was not followed, the advocate general replied, “Parvez Elahi has been arrested from Islamabad’s territory. It does not fall under this court’s jurisdiction.”
Here, Judge Ruaf observed that the former Punjab chief minister was incarcerated in the Atotock district jail, which is why the LHC heard the case.
The advocate general then told the court that the PTI president was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), from where he was taken to the Islamabad Police Lines.
Noting that implementation of the court orders was necessary, Judge Rauf told the advocate general that he could challenge the court order if he had any reservations about it.
“Tell the Islamabad chief commissioner that he is going to the Lahore High Court,” he said while addressing the advocate general, to which the latter once again informed the court that the IHC’s orders were already present.
“The chief commissioner should have appeared before this court,” the judge observed.
The LHC then disposed of the petition while declaring it as “infructuous”. It also issued a contempt of court show-cause notice to CC Haq, directing the registrar’s office to prepare a separate case file for the contempt proceedings.
The FIR
The first information report (FIR) against Elahi was registered at the CTD police station on March 18 on the complaint of Ramna police Station House Officer Malik Rasheed.
The case pertained to the clashes on that day between Islamabad Police and PTI workers outside the Judicial Complex.
The case was lodged under Sections 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 427 (mischief causing damage amounting to Rs50), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage), 440 (mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or hurt) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
March 18’s events were marred by clashes between the police and PTI workers amid party chairman Imran Khan’s appearance at the Judicial Complex in a hearing for the Toshakhana case.
The Islamabad police had alleged that party workers had shelled the Judicial Complex and set fire to a police post. In turn, the PTI had also accused the police of shelling Imran’s vehicle.
Timeline of arrests and rearrests
Elahi was first taken into custody on June 1 from outside his Lahore residence by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for allegedly taking kickbacks in development projects.
The next day, he was discharged by a Lahore court but was rearrested by the ACE in a similar case registered in its Gujranwala region. However, a Gujranwala court had then discharged him on June 3 in two corruption cases pertaining to the embezzlement of funds.
Nevertheless, even after being discharged, the ACE then rearrested Elahi for “illegal recruitments” in the Punjab Assembly.
On June 9, a special anti-corruption court had given the ACE a “last opportunity” to present the record of the illegal appointments case.
The same day, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) came into action and initiated another inquiry against Elahi for his alleged involvement in embezzlement in development projects in Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin.
After a sessions court on June 12 had set aside a judicial magistrate’s decision of Elahi’s acquittal in the embezzlement case, the next day, a judicial magistrate again sent him to judicial lockup after the LHC suspended the said order of the sessions court.
On June 20, Elahi finally secured relief from an anti-corruption court in Lahore but could not be released from jail as orders for his release were not delivered to the prison administration.
The same day, the FIA booked him, his son Moonis Elahi and three others on charges of money laundering.
Subsequently, the next day, the FIA took him into custody from jail and he was sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in the money laundering case.
On June 26, a Lahore district court again sent Elahi to jail on a 14-day judicial remand in connection with a money laundering case, shortly after the FIA arrested him from outside the Camp Jail.
Then on July 4, a Lahore anti-terrorism court had dismissed Elahi’s post-arrest bail plea as not maintainable in a case of attacking a police team that raided his house to arrest him in an inquiry by the ACE.
About a week later, the LHC instructed Inspector General of Prisons Mian Farooq to address the PTI president’s complaints regarding the lack of basic facilities provided to him in jail.
On July 12, an FIA plea against the denial of Elahi’s physical remand in a case of unexplained banking transactions was dismissed by a Lahore sessions court.
Two days later, the LHC had restrained the police and the ACE from arresting the former Punjab chief minister in any undisclosed case. However, he was then detained at Lahore’s Camp Jail under Section 3 of the MPO.
Upon the completion of the MPO detention, the Lahore NAB team took Elahi into custody from the Adiala Jail in a graft case on August 14.
On September 1, he was rearrested by the Islamabad police hours after the LHC had ordered his release in the graft case.
