In a tense standoff, Mianwali police have cordoned off the sessions court premises since Wednesday morning, seeking to rearrest 37 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers who were acquitted by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Sargodha on Tuesday. Among the acquitted was former MNA Amjad Ali Khan.
The acquitted PTI workers were arrested by Mianwali City Police immediately after their release from Sargodha central jail. They were brought to Mianwali under section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). On Wednesday, the police presented the workers before Duty Magistrate Mohammad Asif Mustafi, revealing that a new case had been registered against them the previous night under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the MPO.
The charges included sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault on public servant) of the PPC, and section 16 of the MPO. The duty magistrate dismissed the charges of attempted murder and dissemination of rumors, while the remaining charges were bailable. The magistrate ordered the release of all 37 workers on personal bonds and directed the police to remove their handcuffs.
However, the police refused to comply, leading to an escalation in the courtroom. The matter was brought to the attention of the district and sessions judge, who issued a stern order to the police to release the workers or face legal action for defying court orders. The police subsequently removed the handcuffs but remained stationed outside the court, prepared to rearrest the workers.
Fateh Khan Niazi, president of the bar association, condemned the police action, labeling it unconstitutional and illegal. He noted that while Amjad Ali Khan and some workers had been rearrested under section 3 of the MPO, the majority of the workers continued to remain on the court premises, reluctant to leave due to the looming threat of re-arrest.
