Declaring detention of PTI leaders and workers, including senior partyleader Dr. Yasmin Rashid, in connection with incidents of violence on May9, 2023 null and void, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday orderedtheir immediate release.
As many as 45 detainees, belonging to 11 districts of Punjab namely Lahore,Wazirabad, Jhang, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat,Nankana Sahib, Narowal and Gujranwala, had challenged their detentionorders by deputy commissioners in the LHC.
In his verdict on the petitions, Justice Safdar Salim Shahid wrote thatreaction to the arrest of a political leader on May 9 was unfortunate. “Andunfortunately the government, too, ordered the arrest of thousands of PTIleaders and workers in a rush without taking into account theconsequences,” read the verdict.
The judge further wrote that if the government had any evidence of theinvolvement of these people in acts of violence, it had lot of time toorder their arrests.
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Furthermore, the decision read, those taken into custody must be knowingthe charges against them so that they could defend themselves.
