The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday disposed of more than 100 similar petitions filed against the detention of PTI workers under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.
The decision came after the Sindh government withdrew the MPO orders. The additional advocate general informed the court that the notification had been taken back.
The official withdrawal notification was presented before the court, after which the petitions challenging the detentions were disposed of.
A day earlier, government sources said the Sindh government had decided to release nearly 300 PTI workers. They said the documentary process had already started.
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A source added that the process could take some time, but releases were expected to begin by Tuesday evening.
Earlier, the SHC had directed the Sindh government to withdraw the MPO orders and warned that the court would pass strict orders if the government failed to do so.
PTI’s defense counsel, Barrister Ali Tahir, told the court that more than 187 families were affected by what he called illegal detention orders.
He alleged that police carried out unlawful raids on the homes of party workers and said the MPO orders went against earlier SHC rulings and legal principles.
Later, the provincial home department issued a notification dated February 10, withdrawing all detention orders issued under Section 3(1) of the MPO Ordinance 1960 between Feb 1 and Feb 9.
The notification directed prison authorities in Karachi and Malir to immediately release all detainees held under MPO, if they were not required in any other case.
In a statement, PTI said Barrister Tahir had earlier expressed hope that the detention orders would be suspended the same day.
More than 400 detained, claims PTI Sindh
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh welcomed the move and said the Sindh government had been forced to withdraw what he called illegal detentions of party workers.
According to a PTI press release, Sheikh claimed that more than 400 workers were unlawfully picked up between Feb 1 and Feb 9 on the instructions of the provincial government.
He alleged that PTI workers were first abducted, then formally arrested, and later jailed under the MPO ordinance.
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Last week, PTI accused authorities of arresting dozens of activists during night raids in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.
On Feb 1, the Sindh home department had ordered the detention of PTI workers for 30 days, accusing them of planning protests that could disturb law and order.
PTI challenged the detentions in the SHC the following day. Earlier, the court had also asked the provincial authorities to present the cabinet’s decision behind issuing the MPO orders.
