The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has denied acceptance of the ‘unconditional pardon’ offered by the Islamabad Deputy Commissioner

In Islamabad, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declined the plea for unconditional pardon made by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Nawaz Memon on Wednesday, following his absence from a hearing related to a contempt of court case.

During the proceedings presided over by IHC’s Justice Babar Sattar, Memon was instructed to provide his response to a show-cause notice by the following Monday and was prohibited from traveling abroad. Additionally, the court dismissed his request to transfer the contempt case to another bench.

Despite Memon’s failure to attend the hearing despite the rejection of his exemption request, the court issued a show-cause notice to him. Justice Sattar mentioned that a verdict on the case would be delivered next week.

The IHC scheduled the judgment for March 1 and adjourned the hearing until then.

A day earlier, the IHC had ordered Memon’s arrest and instructed authorities to place him on the no-fly list for skipping proceedings related to a contempt case involving the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shehryar Afridi under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.

Justice Sattar was overseeing the case against both Memon and Islamabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Malik Jamil Zafar for allegedly overstepping their authority by issuing orders under Section 3 of the MPO.

During the hearing, Zafar and Superintendent of Police (SP) Farooq Buttar appeared as summoned, while Memon’s lawyer requested his client’s exemption from appearing before the court.

Memon, present at the hearing, stated that he had not missed any of the 18 previous hearings and left himself at the mercy of the court.

Expressing displeasure over Memon’s previous absence, Justice Sattar emphasized the seriousness of the contempt of court case against him, highlighting the issuance of numerous MPO orders during his tenure.

Memon’s lawyer pleaded for the dismissal of the contempt case, arguing that Memon had no intention of undermining the court’s authority.

The lawyer further argued that any contempt was not committed by Memon but by the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner. He urged the court to consider the broader context of the situation, citing concerns about law and order.

Additionally, the lawyer presented transcripts of Afridi’s speeches before his arrest, suggesting they were inflammatory and threatening.

During the hearing, the lawyer for SSP Operations Jameel Zafar also presented arguments, while Justice Sattar directed him to provide more information regarding the district intelligence committee and its terms of reference.

Upon completion of the arguments, the SSP submitted an unconditional apology to the court.