Security personnel and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan gather around his vehicle upon his arrival in High court in Lahore on May 15, 2023. (Photo by Arif Ali / AFP)
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Monday ordered the release of an associate of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from detention, even as authorities pressed on with efforts to prosecute thousands of his followers accused of recent anti-government violence.
Shireen Mazari, who served as rights minister under Khan during his 2018-2022 term in office, was arrested last Thursday in the capital, Islamabad, on charges of inciting people to violence.
She has been a vocal critic of Pakistan's military and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Mazari's daughter, Imaan Mazari, had petitioned a high court, arguing that her mother's arrest was unlawful. She said the Lahore High Court ordered her mother's release on Monday but that she was still at a detention facility in Rawalpindi.
It remained unclear when Shireen Mazari would actually walk free. She was also arrested earlier this month and later released by a high court in Islamabad, and has several legal cases pending against her.
The development is the latest in the political drama that has engulfed Pakistan following Khan's arrest, which triggered days of protests and violence unseen in years. Ten of Khan's supporters were killed in clashes with the police.
Followers of the popular opposition leader attacked security forces and torched government and military property. Troops were deployed to contain the violence, which subsided only after Khan was released.
Khan has since then dialed down his anti-government campaign, denouncing the violence and demanding an independent probe to determine who was behind the turmoil.
Sharif's government, meanwhile, has arrested over the past two weeks nearly 4,000 supporters of Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf opposition party. It has also pledged to prosecute all those involved in the attacks on military and public property.
On Monday, Pakistan's National Assembly - or lower house of parliament - passed a resolution denouncing attacks on military installations and public property, and vowed to try all those linked to the recent violence in the military and anti-terrorism court.
In his speech at the assembly, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said they "have videos showing Khan's sisters” and close relatives among the rioters at the residence of a top regional military commander, which was torched.
Sharif, in the southwestern city of Quetta, said those who were involved in the attacks on public property and military installations were "enemies of Pakistan” and vowed to try them in military courts.
Leading rights group Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have expressed their concern over the government’s plans to use the military courts to try civilians.
On Monday, Khan's party also petitioned the Supreme Court not to allow the government to go ahead with military trials of protesters arrested in the recent clashes.
A former cricket star turned Islamist politician, Khan has claimed that his ouster was part of a plot by the United States and Sharif, aided by Pakistan's military - claims all three have denied.
Khan says he is facing nearly 150 legal cases against him, and fears another arrest Tuesday, when he is to appear before the National Accountability Authority in Islamabad to answer questions in connection with a graft case.
