Daily Times

A contempt of court petition has been filed against the arrest of Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a fresh twist to his ongoing legal battles.

Ayub has moved the Peshawar High Court, naming Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Inspector General (IG) Punjab, and the District Police Officer (DPO) of Attock as respondents in the petition.

According to the petition, Omar Ayub had been granted bail by the Peshawar High Court, but despite the court’s order, he was arrested outside Adiala Jail. The PTI leader claims that his detention was illegal and without justification. Asserting that his constitutional rights were violated, Ayub’s legal team has demanded contempt of court proceedings against the officials involved in his arrest.

The development comes just days after Ayub, along with five other PTI leaders, was arrested in connection with the attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ) case, despite being on bail. The Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had intervened, ordering the release of the PTI leaders and issuing contempt of court notices to five police officers involved in the arrests. The ATC expressed its displeasure over the illegal detention, stressing that the arrests were made despite the court’s clear instructions.

The court, which convened in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, issued stern orders barring the arrest of any accused within a 500-meter radius of Adiala Jail in the future. The judges also expressed frustration over the continuing violations of bail orders, highlighting that the law must be respected at all levels of the judiciary.

On the same day, Ayub, along with PTI leaders Raja Basharat and Ahmed Chatta, was presented before the Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court. The PTI legal team, led by senior lawyer Babar Awan, presented interim bail orders for Omar Ayub and Raja Basharat in the court. The police presented Ayub, Basharat, Chatta, Majid Daniyal, and Malik Azeem, but the court granted relief by accepting the bail documents.