KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday disposed of more than 100 identical petitions challenging the detention of PTI workers under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance after the provincial government withdrew the detention orders.
The additional advocate general informed the court that the MPO notification had been withdrawn and presented the official notification. The court then disposed of the petitions filed against the detentions.
Earlier in the day, the SHC had directed the Sindh government to withdraw the MPO orders, observing that if the orders were not revoked, the court would pass directions against the authorities.
Defence counsel Barrister Ali Tahir told the court that over 187 families were affected by what he described as illegal detention orders. He alleged that police had raided the homes of party workers and argued that the orders were contrary to earlier SHC rulings and legal principles.
Subsequently, the Sindh home department issued a notification dated February 10 withdrawing all detention orders issued under Section 3(1) of the MPO Ordinance, 1960, from February 1 to February 9 with immediate effect.
The notification directed the senior superintendents of Central Prison and Correctional Facilities Karachi and District Prison Malir to release all individuals detained under the MPO if they were not required in any other case.
“The government of Sindh is pleased to withdraw all detention orders issued by the Home Department, Sindh, under section 3(1) of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), 1960, during the period from Feb 1 to Feb 9, with immediate effect,” the notification read.
A day earlier, government sources had indicated that nearly 300 PTI workers would be released after the completion of the documentary process.
In a statement, PTI spokesperson said Barrister Tahir had expressed hope that the detention orders would be suspended.
Separately, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, in a post on X, welcomed the decision and termed the detentions unconstitutional and illegal. In a party press release, he alleged that more than 400 workers had been unlawfully picked up between February 1 and February 9 on the instructions of the provincial government.
Last week, the PTI had accused authorities of conducting late-night raids in Karachi and other parts of Sindh and detaining activists under the MPO Ordinance.
On February 1, the Sindh home department had issued notifications to detain PTI workers for 30 days, citing concerns that they might instigate road blockades, sit-ins and actions that could disturb law and order. The party challenged the detentions in the SHC the following day.
On Friday, the SHC had asked the provincial authorities to produce the cabinet’s decision regarding the issuance of detention orders under the MPO Ordinance.
