LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Thursday adjourned the matter of the detention of Hafiz Saad Rizvi, leader of proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), for arguments on the point of maintainability.

       At the outset of the hearing, Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, who headed the bench, observed that the Supreme Court remanded the matter to the high court to review a decision by a single bench whereby detention of Rizvi was set aside.

       Advocate Mian Pervez Hassan argued that the detention period of Rizvi had expired and his continuous detention was unlawful.

       Advocate General of Punjab Ahmad Awais sought time to look into the matter and prepare arguments. The bench adjourned hearing till Nov 3 and asked both sides to come up with arguments on the maintainability of the matter.

       The Supreme Court had on an appeal of the government suspended the operation of the LHC single bench’s order and remanded the case for a fresh decision by a division bench.

       Previously, the government had withdrawn its reference before a federal review board when it failed to justify the detention of Rizvi despite an order passed by the LHC single bench.

       The single bench had on Oct 1 set aside the second detention of Rizvi notified by the Punjab government under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

       The first detention of Rizvi had come after his organisation (TLP) staged sit-ins across the country during April this year demanding that the government expel the ambassador of France in the wake of blasphemous cartoons. The protesters turned violent and attacked the police personnel.

       The government detained him under the ATA 1997 after his 90-day detention expired on July 10 last.

       DOCTOR’S CASE: A judicial magistrate on Thursday dismissed the post-arrest bail petition of a young doctor in a case of harassing a woman staff member of a public hospital where he worked.

       The cyber-crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested Dr Abdullah on the complaint of a nurse of the Jinnah Hospital. She alleged that the doctor -- an MBBS from Russia -- had been harassing and blackmailing her through her private videos.

       The FIR was lodged under sections 20, 21 and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016.

       Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2021