The Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled the detention of Opposition Leader in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh to be unlawful, granted him protective bail till July 18, and ordered his immediate release.
Sheikh, a central leader of PTI, was arrested in Lahore Tuesday night and moved to an unknown location, according to party leaders and his daughter, Ayesha Haleem.
CCTV footage of Sheikh’s detention by men in plain-clothes had emerged. As evidenced in the video, the MPA showed no resistance and quietly followed the men. Later, the personnel secretary of the opposition leader petitioned the LHC via counsel Amir Saeed Rawn to make the Punjab’s inspector general of police, the provincial government, and other parties respondents.
The defendant was brought before the court of Justice Baqir Najafi, where the prosecutor submitted the case file. After reviewing it, the judge asked if there was any evidence that the investigative team had come to arrest the defendant. “I do not see any document in the provided papers,” the judge noted.
In response to the court’s question, Sheikh stated that he was arrested Tuesday evening and taken to the Gulberg police station and the CIA for raising his voice in the Assembly. He stated that he was willing to face any investigation.
The court then inquired as to when he wished to travel to Sindh, to which he responded that he wished to celebrate Eid ul Adha with his children. After hearing Sheikh’s testimony, the judge said, “it should not be like this, give me the file and I will pronounce the verdict after some time”. The court then issued the reserved verdict and granted him bail until July 18.
A big number of PTI supporters and leaders staged a protest in front of the Karachi Press Club to demand the immediate release of Sheikh.