The Islamabad High Court has invalidated the eight-day physical remand of several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs arrested after a recent rally in Islamabad, sending them all to jail on judicial remand.
A two-member special bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz, delivered the decision, which had been reserved following petitions filed to annul the physical remand of the detained PTI MNAs.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Aamir Farooq made strong remarks about the arrest of lawmakers from the Parliament House, expressing concern over the arrest of MNAs without proper procedure. "The National Assembly speaker may be doing his job, but the court can also look into the matter. They will not let the dignity of any institution remain intact, what are you doing? Parliament is the mother of all institutions," the CJ remarked.
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He questioned why parliamentarians were apprehended from within parliament, stating, "Look at the situation in the country, and you entered parliament and arrested the members."
The prosecutor general argued that "terrible anti-state speeches" were made in the Islamabad rally of the PTI, to which the chief justice responded, saying: "Even if the allegation is accepted as true, what about the right to a fair trial, which is a right for everyone regardless of the severity of the crime?"
Justice Imtiaz questioned if there was an inquiry into the training of the police officers who filed the case. The CJ remarked that the entire story is so amazing that it could be turned into a movie. The bench also criticized the contents of the first information report (FIR) lodged against the suspects, with Chief Justice Farooq going so far as to call it a "comedy."
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He remarked, "Whoever wrote this FIR has written a good comedy," and jokingly added that credit should be given for a "good comedy" after a long time. The courtroom erupted in laughter as the judge humorously likened the FIR to a fictional story.
Justice Farooq also observed that it was alleged that pistols were recovered from Shoaib Shaheen and Barrister Gohar. "Do you and I not know them both? What more do you want to seize from them?"
The Islamabad prosecutor general replied that a baton had been recovered from Shoaib Shaheen and a pistol from Sher Afzal Marwat. At this, Chief Justice Farooq burst into a laughter, causing a laughter in the courtroom.
The CJ further remarked that ridiculous allegations had been made in this case and an eight-day remand given. The prosecutor general then read out the FIR, at which the CJ remarked: "The author of this FIR is also interesting. Is it the Islamabad police or is that Razia who's trapped among gangsters?"
