Shehryar Afridi arrest: IHC to indict SSP, DPO on Aug 28 in contempt case

• Contempt case issued against officials for arresting Shehryar Afridi despite court order.
• SHO and DPO have been issued show-cause notices.
• Justice Babar Sattar ordered lease of PTI Shehyar Afridi on August 16.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has taken action against District Commissioner (DC) Irfan Memon and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Jameel Zafar, issuing a written order in a contempt of court case against the arrest of PTI’s Shehryar Afridi.

IHC judge Justice Babar Sattar presided over the case, where the court expressed dissatisfaction with their responses to the show-cause notice.

Justice Babar Sattar accused DC Islamabad Irfan Memon and SSP Operations Jameel Zafar of violating a previous court ruling on the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

The High Court had nullified the MPO issued against Shehryar Afridi in June.

However, the District Magistrate issued a new MPO against Afridi based solely on a source report, right after the expiration of DC Rawalpindi’s MPO order.

The court criticized the actions of the DC and SSP, stating that they seemed to disregard the authority of the High Court stating that this, in turn, could undermine the justice system’s credibility.

The order mentions that despite the court’s decision, DC Irfan Memon’s executive order demonstrated a lack of regard for the justice system.

Added that the Court has given the District Magistrate an opportunity to provide a detailed response, and it remains unsatisfied with SSP Jameel Zafar’s reply as well.

Further states that the court noted that SSP Jameel Zafar treated the source report as a mere formality, disregarding court orders. Hence, the Islamabad Inspector General (IG) will need to identify the Station House Officer (SHO) and District Police Officer (DPO) responsible for the source report.

SHO and DPO have been issued show-cause notices and are expected to respond at the next hearing.

The court has scheduled the charging of DC Irfan Memon and SSP Jameel Zafar for August 28.