LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued notices to Foreign Secretary Asim Iftikhar in two separate contempt petitions over alleged non-compliance with an earlier court order concerning two PTI-affiliated Pakistani citizens detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On September 14, the LHC had directed the foreign secretary to process and decide within 15 days representations concerning the detention of two citizens — Syed Salman Raza Zaidi and Muhammad Junaid Jahangir.

Justice Sadiq Mehmood Khurram heard the contempt petitions on Thursday. Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi appeared on behalf of the petitioners and alleged that the two individuals remained deprived of consular, diplomatic, and legal access.

He recalled the court’s Sept 14 directive and contended that the petitioners had not been formally informed of any decision on their representations, even though a considerable amount of time had passed.

The counsel urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the foreign secretary for non-compliance.

After hearing initial arguments, Justice Khurram issued notices to the respondent secretary for submission of his reply by October 29.

In the main petitions, the counsel stated that Zaidi went missing from his residence in Sharjah on Sept 27, 2024, and was subsequently taken into custody by UAE authorities.

He said despite nearly two years having passed, the petitioner, Faryal Zainab, had still not been provided clear information regarding the charges against her husband Zaidi, the judicial proceedings, any sentence, or the complete court record.

Meanwhile, Advocate Niazi said Jahangir was allegedly detained on Sept 24, 2024, at Dubai airport on his return from Saudi Arabia.

Muhammad Ibrahim, Jahangir’s father, filed the petition challenging the alleged failure of the federal government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to provide effective consular protection and legal assistance.

The counsel for the petitioners submitted that despite representations having been filed regarding the detention of both citizens before the foreign secretary, the representations had not been processed.

Both petitioners had asked the court to direct that legal and consular assistance be provided to Zaidi and Jahangir, that their judicial records be obtained and that diplomatic-level steps be taken toward their return to Pakistan.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday summoned the Punjab home secretary and the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat jail in connection with a petition seeking the release of former prime minister Imran Khan’s three sisters.

Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan — were detained by authorities in September, under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960, as the PTI geared up for a planned protest march towards Islamabad. Their detention was ordered for 30 days.

A day earlier, Aleema’s son, Shahrez Khan, filed a fresh plea challenging their detention. It stated that Imran’s sisters remained at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail despite the lapse of the 30-day period of their detention.

Justice Abher Gul Khan took up the petition on Thursday.

Advocate Rana Mudassar Umar appeared on behalf of the petitioner and submitted that the detention orders of the three sisters had expired on Oct 19 and 20, but they had not been released.

Justice Khan asked the counsel why he had not made the Lahore deputy commissioner a respondent in the petition.

The counsel replied that the deputy commissioner had not been impleaded because the detention notification issued by the official had expired.

Uzma’s husband, Ahad Khan, also approached the rostrum and requested the court to summon the deputy commissioner. The judge, however, observed that the official could not be summoned as he had not been made a party to the petition.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing until Oct 28 and directed the home secretary and the jail superintendent to appear in person along with their reports on the matter.

In Wednesday’s petition, Shahrez contended that the detention period had expired, but the three sisters remained in custody. He asked the court to order their release.

It was argued that their detention was a consequence of their efforts for their brother’s release. It further contended that the preventive detention could not replace ordinary criminal law and that the order violated Article 10 as well as the safeguards of Section 3 of the MPO.

The petitioner requested the court to direct the jail superintendent to produce the detainees before the court and “set them at liberty, in the interest of justice, equity and fair play”.

The petitioner asked the court to declare the detention orders void and issue directives for the detainees’ release, while suspending the operation of the orders.