Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Thursday sought guarantees from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javaid’s lawyer that she will not continue to use inappropriate language in public settings, as he declared her most recent arrest illegal and allowed her to return home.
“[I] saw [Sanam] Javaid using inappropriate language on the internet,” observed the judge during proceedings on a petition seeking her immediate release. Since the May 9, 2023 riots, Javaid has been arrested, freed on bail, and re-arrested multiple times. Of the various cases filed against her, she has been acquitted in four cases, while she has acquired bail in eight others.
On Monday, the IHC ordered her release, directed her to remain in Islamabad, and prevented police and other law enforcement agencies from taking any further action against her until Thursday (today). She was subsequently moved to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad on the orders of provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who is also the PTI president in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
During today’s proceedings, Javaid’s lawyer Mian Ashfaq Ali assured the court his client would not indulge in any inappropriate language in public settings in future. Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, meanwhile, conveyed that the Balochistan police were not insisting on securing the transit remand of the PTI worker for a case lodged against her in the province under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
“Javaid is free and can now go back to her province,” he said, after which the court disposed of her plea and declared her arrest illegal.
Speaking to media outside the IHC, Javaid’s lawyer Ali said the AGP had assured the court she would not be arrested in any new case in the country. He claimed the AGP had further said that cases registered against his client in Balochistan and Islamabad would be withdrawn within two days.
The PTI has recently indicated it would “reward” Javaid for her “sacrifice” by nominating her on of the reserved seats available to it after a Supreme Court ruling from earlier this month.