ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: The government on Friday released former Supreme Court Bar Association president Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood from preventive detention.

“Yes the authorities have recalled police from my residence. I have already completed 90 days in detention,” Tariq Mehmood told Dawn. He was among three prominent leaders of the lawyers’ community who were detained soon after President Pervez Musharraf had proclaimed the state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007.

The government of Punjab released SCBA president Aitzaz Ahsan on Thursday and firebrand member of the Pakistan Bar Council, Ali Ahmed Kurd, was freed in Quetta on Friday.

A sizeable number of representatives of the civil society and activists of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf gathered outside Mr Mehmood’s house to greet him on his release. They raised slogans against President Musharraf.

The government cannot keep a person for more than 90 days as Article 10 (4) of the Constitution requires that a detained person be produced before a review board comprising three senior judges of the Supreme Court if the government wants to extend the detention.

Mr Mehmood had been released on Dec 20 on a three-day parole to celebrate Eidul Azha, but detained again after he announced that he would take deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to Faisal Mosque to offer Eid prayers.“We have done no wrong and our struggle for independence of the judiciary, reinstatement of the deposed judges and the rule of law will continue,” Mr Mehmood told Dawn.

“I had braved the cold wintry nights in solitary confinement in Sahiwal jail and now I have completed the detention at my residence in Islamabad. The detention has helped me realise the misery of the common people and understand the issues relating to human rights,” he said.

He said he had developed some ailments because he was not provided medical facility during the confinement.

He said that after the return of Aitzaz Ahsan from Naudero where he had gone to offer condolences over the assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto “we would chalk out a strategy to keep on the lawyers’ movement alive for the release and reinstatement of deposed chief justice and other judges”.

When asked about the release of the deposed chief justice, Law Minister Syed Afzal Haider said the home department dealt with the issue.