28 April 2005	Thursday	18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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RAWALPINDI, April 27: Detained Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activists are not being allowed to meet their visitors, party spokesman Nasir Mir said on Wednesday. He said PPP leaders visited Adiala Jail to see their detained colleagues, but the jail administration refused to arrange their meeting citing restrictions by the provincial government.

These activists were detained on Monday under 3 MPO on the instructions of the provincial secretary home department.

Quoting a jail official, Mr Mir said the PPP delegation was told that they could meet all the jail inmates except the three PPP activists detained under the MPO.

“We were told that we would have to seek permission from the home secretary to meet these activists,” he added.

Family of one of the activists, Mohammad Shahid, also went to jail but was not permitted to see him. According to the party spokesman, Mr Shahid was sick but not being provided treatment.

Meanwhile, Agha Riazul Islam’s son on Wednesday moved Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench against the detention of his father on the orders of the provincial home secretary.

The Punjab province through the provincial home secretary has been named the respondent.

The petition challenges Mr Islam’s detention under 3 MPO on the grounds that the reasons cited for his arrest are vague, politically motivated and malafide.

The petition would be taken up for hearing on Thursday, Mr Islam’s lawyer — Shah Khawar — said.

Another petition has been filed by the activists who are fearing arrest under the detention order issued on Monday by the provincial home department against 80 people.

In this petition, the petitioners have contended that the Punjab government was harassing them and their families under the garb of Maintenance of Public Order law.

They have claimed that being the citizens of the country they enjoy undeniable rights to association, speech and assembly. Moreover, the petitioners have stated that the detention orders are unjustified as they have been acting within the parameters of law and the Constitution.