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The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday ordered the release of PTI Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat, who was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) last week.<\/p>\n
Marwat was arres\u00adted<\/a> from outside the LHC on Dec 14, where he had arrived to join a protest. Footage of his arrest shared by the PTI on X (formerly Twitter) had shown policemen dragging him by the collar as several lawyers tried to stop them. He was later moved to an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n Police sources had told Dawn<\/em> that the arrest was made under the MPO. The law emp\u00adowers the police to detain a person considered \u201cprejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order\u201d.<\/p>\n The arrest was strongly criticised by PTI leaders and lawyers\u2019 bodies. A statement shared by the party had held the caretaker government responsible for \u201cacting as a facilitator\u201d during the \u201cunabated lawlessness\u201d.<\/p>\n On Friday, the LHC issued notices<\/a> to the police and the Lahore deputy commissioner on a petition filed by Marwat\u2019s brother seeking the quashing of the PTI leader\u2019s detention orders.<\/p>\n Today, the Punjab government submitted its response in court. It stated that the notification challenging Marwat\u2019s detention was issued by the DC and the petitioner should approach the relevant forum for the PTI leader\u2019s release.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plea regarding Sher Afzal Marwat\u2019s release should have been first submitted to the Punjab government,\u201d Advocate Mohsin Abbas, the government\u2019s counsel, said. He further appealed that the petition be disposed of.<\/p>\n However, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry rejected the government\u2019s request and ordered that the PTI leader be released against surety bonds.<\/p>\n The written order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com<\/em>, said that the lawyer for the petitioner had submitted that the Marwat would \u201cnot indulge himself in any activity in contravention of the Constitution\u201d and \u201cwill not go beyond the mandate of the law\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this view of the matter, the petition is allowed,\u201d the order said, adding that Marwat was directed to be released forthwith, subject to furnishing personal surety bonds.<\/p>\n Marwat, one of the counsels for former prime minister Imran Khan, was catapulted into the spotli\u00adg\u00ad\u00adht over the past few weeks due to his fiery addresses at the PTI\u2019s public events.<\/p>\n The lawyer, who has only recently been appointed<\/a> the senior vice president of the party, has been at the forefront at a time when the majority of the party\u2019s core leadership is in hiding or has parted ways.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Marwat had accused<\/a> the police of attempting to \u201cabduct\u201d him near the Gulabad area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Lower Dir district.<\/p>\n Subsequently, the Peshawar High Court had ordered<\/a> the KP government not to arrest Marwat until further orders in four cases recently registered against him after he attended his party\u2019s conventions in the province.<\/p>\n