Imaan Mazari and Ali Wazir
For unlawful assembly, resistance, and “interference in state affairs,” a municipal court in Islamabad on Sunday remanded former MNA Ali Wazir and human rights attorney Imaan Mazari.
The two were detained by Islamabad police early on Sunday morning, two days after they took part in a demonstration sponsored by the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM).
Both of them were sought after by the authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.
The two were detained for holding a sit-in, demonstrating resistance, and interfering with official business, according to the first information report (FIR).
700 to 800 persons attempted to resist the authorities and march on the capital, according to the FIR, and many of them were armed with sticks and some even had guns. The main roadway, GT Road, was allegedly stopped by protesters when they staged a rally in the centre of the street, according to the report.
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Additionally, it said that when security guards attempted to stop the participants, they damaged a government car, got into fights with the police, and even managed to forcibly steal an officer’s anti-riot kit.
The judge orders remand
The media was not allowed in the courtroom today while the two were being presented to a judge. There was also a substantial police presence outside.
Another FIR of sedition and terrorism against Imaan Mazari and Ali Wazir was also handed to the court during the proceedings, which were presided over by Judge Ihtasham Alam.
The judge then issued an order for Ali Wazir and Imaan Mazari to reappear in court and granted the police one day of physical custody for Imaan and two days of physical custody for Wazir in the case involving an unlawful gathering.
For the other FIR, the court ordered the authorities to appear tomorrow before the relevant court with both.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) will detain Imaan Mazari till tomorrow in the women’s police station.
questionable arrest
A police official earlier in the day rejected claims of any wrongdoing on the part of the officers, saying, “All actions will be executed according to the law.”
The spokeswoman added that the only remarks about the arrest that should be taken as accurate are those made by the police departments.
Imaan had posted on the social media site X only moments prior to her detention that “unknown persons” had broken into her house by “jumping over” the main gate and were attempting to disable her security cameras.
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Meanwhile, Dr. Shireen Mazari, her mother and a former minister of human rights under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government, asserted that “policewomen, plainclothes people” had broken into their home and seized
She asserted that the authorities also confiscated Imaan’s laptop, mobile and security cameras.
The former PTI leader claimed, “We asked who they had come for, and they just dragged Imaan out,” and that “my daughter was in her night clothes and said let me change, but they just dragged her away” with “no warrants or legal procedure.”
Shireen Mazari referred to the arrest as a “abduction” and “state fascism” and fiercely denounced it.
Notably, the former minister herself had been detained by the authorities in May, followed by five additional detentions, before she eventually decided to give up on active politics.
Additionally, it should be remembered that Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the PTI, was detained a day prior in connection with the cypher leak case under the Official Secrets Act of 1923.
