The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sentenced Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Jameel Zafar, and Station House Officer (SHO) Naseer Manzoor of the Kohsar Police Station to imprisonment for committing contempt of court.
The government officials received a penalty for giving orders to imprison Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Shehryar Afridi and Shandana Gulzar under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law.
The IHC sentenced Islamabad DC to six months in prison, the SSP to four months, and the SHO to two months. All three officials have also been fined Rs 100,000 each.
Meanwhile, the court suspended the penalty for one month, giving the Islamabad DC time to file an appeal against the verdict.
On September 7, 2023, the IHC indicted DC Memon and three police officers, including SSP Zafar, in a contempt case involving PTI leaders' arrest.
On August 16, the IHC suspended the detention orders against the PTI leaders and directed their immediate release.
Both politicians were detained by law authorities for their suspected involvement in the May 9 riots, which erupted following the detention of PTI chairman Imran Khan in 2023.
DC Memon and SSP Zafar pleaded not guilty to the accusations and offered an unreserved apology.
However, the IHC denied the appeal for unconditional forgiveness and later ordered the authorities to place DC Memon's name on an Exit Control List (ECL) for failing to appear in court hearings.
He was also handed a show-cause notice and directed to respond to his absence from the proceedings.
On May 16, Afridi was detained at his Islamabad residence under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960. Despite a release order, he was promptly rearrested under the same clause on May 30th.
On August 3, the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court granted bail to the PTI leader. But Rawalpindi police arrested him again after he was released from Adiala jail.
In reaction to his detention, the former minister's lawyer submitted a petition in the IHC, seeking his release and the reversal of the MPO order.