The Lahore High Court (LHC) quashed on Friday the notification of the detention of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders.
On the request of PTI stalwart Fawad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Saleem suspended the detention of all the PTI leaders and ordered their release. The court had sought a response from the Punjab government and other parties in this regard on March 7.
Earlier, a few days ago, the police had arrested Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, among other PTI leaders and workers, and shifted them to other jails in the province.
On Wednesday, PTI Chairman Imran Khan suspended the court arrest drive of the party after the Supreme Court ordered general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies.
In a tweet, the former premier welcomed the judgement of the apex court, saying: “It was responsibility of SC to uphold Constitution & they have valiantly done that through their judgement today”. He said the ruling was an assertion of the rule of law in Pakistan.
Tessori vows to continue consultations with stakeholders for economic stability
“We are suspending our Jail Bharo movement & moving forward with election campaigns in KP & Punjab,” he concluded.
The court arrest movement was launched on Feb 22 by Imran Khan-led party against the violation of fundamental rights and worsening economic situation. The movement began in Lahore where Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Azam Swati and other PTI leaders voluntarily surrendered themselves before the authorities. The drive was later expanded to other cities, including Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Peshawar.