In a contempt case involving the detention of Shandana Gulzar and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday indicted Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Nawaz Memon and three police officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jameel Zafar.
On August 16, the IHC ordered the PTI leaders' immediate release and suspended the detention orders.
Both PTI leaders were detained by law enforcement due to their suspected involvement in the May 9 riots, which broke out following the detention of PTI chairman Imran Khan earlier this year.
IHC Justice Babar Sattar heard the case after receiving responses from DC Memon and SSP Zafar. Islamabad Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat represented the prosecution in court.
On behalf of the accused, Shaukat extended sincere apologies to the court. The defendants "should spend some time in jail to understand the gravity of their actions," Justice Sattar remarked.
In addition to making an unequivocal apology to the court, DC Memon and SSP Zafar entered a not-guilty plea to the accusations. However, Justice Sattar reprimanded them, noting that the case's maximum punishment was a six-month jail term.
Additionally, the court charged SP Farooq Buttar and SHO Naseer Manzoor with contempt of court; both defendants, however, rejected the accusations.
IHC designated Attorney Qaiser Imam as the case's prosecutor.
Afridi was initially detained on May 16 from his residence in Islamabad in accordance with Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, 1960. Despite a release order, he was promptly detained again on May 30 under the same law.
On August 3, the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court granted bail to the PTI leader. However, his freedom was just fleeting since the Rawalpindi police again detained him once he was let out of the Adiala Jail.
After his detention, the former minister's lawyer submitted a plea to the IHC asking for both his release and the cancellation of the MPO order.