The plea of Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Nawaz Memon for an unconditional pardon was rejected by Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday following his absence during the previous hearing of a contempt case.
Justice Babar Sattar ordered Memon to submit his reply to a show-cause notice by Monday and prohibited him from traveling abroad.
The court also declined Memon’s request to transfer the case to another bench.
The contempt case pertains to the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.
The IHC had earlier ordered Memon’s arrest and placed his name on the no-fly list for skipping proceedings.
During the recent hearing, Justice Sattar expressed displeasure over Memon’s previous absence and issued a judgment date for next week.
The verdict in the contempt of court case is scheduled for March 1, with the hearing adjourned until then.
Memon, present at the hearing, asserted that he had attended all 18 previous hearings and left himself at the court’s mercy.
Justice Sattar rebuked Memon for the contempt charge, emphasizing that he had issued 69 MPO orders for 970 days.
Memon’s lawyer, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, argued that his client had no intention of undermining the court’s authority and urged the dismissal of the contempt case.
Abbasi highlighted the types of contempt and argued that the case did not meet the criteria for contempt of court.
He pointed out that MPO orders were issued in response to intelligence reports indicating a potential threat to public order.
The lawyer presented a transcript of Afridi’s inflammatory speeches and emphasized the need to consider the overall situation.
Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Malik Jamil Zafar also presented arguments, stating that their focus was on the leadership, and an unconditional apology was submitted to the court.
Justice Sattar questioned the SSP about evidence against Afridi and directed the submission of the district intelligence committee’s composition and terms of reference.
The hearing concluded with the SSP’s unconditional apology.
