KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday disposed of over 100 petition challenging preventive detention of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s workers under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance after the provincial government withdrew the detention orders.

In the evening, the detained workers were released from Karachi central prison and District Jail Malir. The PTI claimed that nearly 500 workers had been released from the two Karachi jails.

Earlier in the day, a two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC headed by Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar directed the jail authorities to release the detainees if not wanted in any other case.

At the last hearing, another bench of the SHC had ordered the provincial authorities to produce the decision of the cabinet for issuing detention orders under the MPO and also directed the respondents to ensure that one family member of each detained person was allowed to visit them in jail.

When the bench took up the petitions for hearing on Tuesday, an additional advocate general sought more time to file requisite documents and comments.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction over the respondents for not filing required documents and warned that it would pass an order against the officials concerned if the impugned detention orders were not withdrawn.

Thereafter, a provincial law officer produced a notification, issued by the home department on Feb 10, about withdrawal of the all preventive detention orders issued between Feb 1 to Feb 9.

The bench in its order noted that the lawyers for the petitioners were satisfied with the notification in question and sought disposed of the petitions.

Subsequently, the bench disposed of the petitions.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026