After the police failed to bring Fawad, the LHC summoned the IGPs of Punjab and Islamabad.

LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) has summoned the IGPs of Punjab and Islamabad for failing to present senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry in court on a petition contesting his overnight detention by the Islamabad police.

Fawad Chaudhry’s detention for “threatening” Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) members and their families was challenged in the high court. The petition was later heard by LHC Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh. During the hearing, the judge directed police to have Fawad appear in court by 1:30 p.m.

The PTI veteran was arrested early Wednesday after being charged under sections 153A, 506 and 124 A of the Pakistan Penal Code in response to a complaint filed by Election Commission of Pakistan Secretary Umer Hameed.

The judge had previously requested that Mr Chaudhry appear in court at half past one, but police refused to comply without a formal order. As the matter was being heard in court, Justice Sheikh inquired of the law officer about the location of the PTI leader. As the assistant attorney general informed the court that police had already brought the petitioner to Islamabad, the judge voiced his dissatisfaction and noted that “the court understands how to get its orders followed”.

The court ordered police till 3 p.m. to produce Fawad Chaudhry, failing which he threatened legal action.

In a brief press conference earlier, the PTI leader said that security had been increased since a “terrorist” was being taken to court, adding that he was ignorant of the charges levelled against him. He also encouraged people to protest the administration in the streets. He said that former South African President Nelson Mandela had also been charged with sedition.

The arrest of Mr Chaudhry has enraged PTI officials, notably Hammad Azhar and Farrukh Habib, who have threatened to conduct nationwide rallies and take the matter to court.

The police report

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the PTI leader has been charged under PPC sections 153A, 506, and 124 A for allegedly threatening the ECP and its members in a televised interview on Tuesday. The FIR contains an extract from the former MNA’s testimony in which he said that the election commission had turned into a “Munshi” since the election commissioner signed documents like a clerk after they were supplied to him by the administration.

Mr Chaudhry said that anyone who would do injustice against the PTI would be pursued till they were punished. He suggested that people follow the elements who were fooling the public to their homes. Expressing worries over the selections of certain employees in the ECP Punjab before of elections, he stated if these appointments were not taken back, “we warn that the electoral commission and its members would have to pay back”.

According to the complaint, Fawad Chaudhry threatened the chief election commissioner, members of the ECP, and their families during his speech, which he portrayed as an effort to obstruct the electoral process.

“The statement has created a permanent danger for ECP members and their families,” he added, adding that the PTI leader has tried to divide the government and the ECP. “It is a severe crime to influence the election process by threatening constitutional institutions,” he added, adding that such utterances might destabilise the nation.