ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court declared the arrest of former Human Rights Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari by the Islamabad police and Anti-Corruption Establishment, Punjab in May 2022 as illegal.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar of the Islamabad High Court announced the reserved verdict, nullifying the commission’s report that had ordered her arrest. The court directed the Secretary of the Establishment Division and the Punjab Home Department to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Shireen Mazari was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Punjab on May 21, 2022, and implicated in fourteen cases related to the May 9 vandalism. Following the May 9 riots, Mazari announced her departure from PTI and politics, citing deteriorating health conditions after her 12-day detention post-riots.
On May 23, 2023, Mazari condemned the May 9 riots and reiterated her opposition to violence. The Islamabad High Court had previously ordered the removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) on December 2, stating that she was not declared an absconder in any case. The court directed the Director General of Immigration and Passports to lift the travel restrictions on her.
