ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui on Sunday appealed to Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Justice Athar Minallah to order a judicial inquiry into his arrest, handcuffing and imprisonment in the High Security Block (HSB) cell of Adiala jail.

In one of his tweets, Senator Irfan Siddiqui said: “Honorable Chief Justice, Athar Minallah Sahib! Court order regarding release of Ms. Shireen Mazari and judicial inquiry was very good. Can a judicial inquiry be conducted into my arrest at midnight without any warrant or FIR, handcuffing and putting me in High Security Block (HSB) cell during Ms. Shireen Mazari’s tenure?.”

Irfan Siddiqui was arrested by a heavy contingent of police and other agencies from his house in the federal capital at midnight in July 2019 without any warrant or FIR. The next day, he was handcuffed and produced before Assistant Commissioner Mehreen Baloch. He was sent to Adiala Jail on a 14-day judicial remand where he was put in a High Security Block cell along with criminals involved in heinous crime.

It was later revealed that he was arrested under the tenancy law in reference to a house which he did not even own. Despite repeated calls, the incident has not been investigated till date.

The arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, Shireen Mazari, on Saturday came in the wake of an FIR in a land case registered during the tenure of her party’s government. After hearing the case at midnight, Justice Minallah released Shireen Mazari and ordered the establishment of a judicial commission to investigate the arrest.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2022