IHC disposes of MPO detention petitions as earlier orders expired
The Islamabad High Court has disposed of petitions against the MPO detention of PTI lawmakers Adil Bazai and Dawar Kundi, Khushdil Khan and a PML-N worker. The court said the September 21, 2026 orders had lost legal effect, and that this did not make the detentions lawful.
- Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued the written judgment on petitions by four detainees.
- The September 21, 2026 detention orders had expired, so the petitions were declared ineffective.
- The court gave no opinion on the October 3, 2026 orders, which were not challenged before it.
The Islamabad High Court has disposed of petitions challenging the detention of two PTI lawmakers and a PML-N worker under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law, as reported by 24NewsHD TV on Tuesday.
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro issued the written judgment on petitions filed by Adil Bazai, Dawar Kundi, Khushdil Khan and PML-N worker Basharatullah. The court declared the petitions ineffective because the legal effect of the detention orders of September 21, 2026 had expired.
The court clarified that disposing of the petitions did not mean the detentions were declared lawful or constitutional. According to Daily Pakistan, it also noted that after the 26th constitutional amendment a high court cannot issue orders on its own beyond the contents or prayer of a petition.
On the detention orders issued on October 3, 2026, the court expressed no view on their legal validity. It said those later orders had not been formally challenged before it, and their legality could not be decided without the relevant records.
The judgment added that the court cannot exercise its constitutional jurisdiction on assumptions or on material that is not part of the court record.
The court observed that the extraordinary power of preventive detention cannot be used arbitrarily and must stay within the limits set by the Constitution and the relevant law.
It said informing a detainee of the grounds for detention within 15 days is a constitutional requirement, and that detainees must be given the earliest opportunity to make an effective representation against their detention.
The court also held that failure to file a legal representation does not place an allegedly unlawful detention beyond constitutional scrutiny.
Why it matters
The ruling sets out limits on preventive detention under the MPO law, which affects the civil rights of citizens and political workers across Pakistan.
