LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday ordered the release of PTI leader and former human rights minister Shireen Mazari, who was arrested earlier in the day in a case related to illegal land occupation.
In a statement, the Punjab chief executive also ordered an investigation against the anti-corruption department team which arrested Mazarin near her house in Islamabad. Hamza said that he had instructed Rawalpindi police to get Mazari released from the custody of the anti-corruption department team.
Earlier in the day, Shireen Mazari was arrested from Islamabad by Punjab’s anti-corruption department. In a statement, the Islamabad police said that Shireen Mazari was booked in a property case registered in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Taking to Twitter, her daughter Imaan Zainab Mazari claimed that the former minister was “beaten and taken away by male police officers”. “All I have been told is that Anti-Corruption Wing Lahore has taken her,” she added.
PTI Punjab president Shafqat Mehmood has strongly condemned the “illegal and brutal kidnapping” of the former human rights minister. He also announced that the party would hold a protest at Lahore’s Liberty roundabout at 8pm.
Former law minister Babar Awan lashed out at the “shameless and show-off” government for detaining Shireen, saying it was proving that no one was safe.
The case
A private media outlet reported that the former minister was taken into custody in a case related to the encroachment of a piece of land in District Rajanpur, filed in Dera Ghani (DG) Khan in 1972.
According to the details of the case, the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACEP) Punjab registered the case on the complaint of Assistant Commissioner Rajanpur. Mazari is accused of encroaching upon a piece of land.
A complaint was lodged against Shireen Mazari on March 11, 2022, while AC Rajanpur was directed to inquire into the matter. The concerned official prepared the report of the case on April 8 and in the light of this, the Anti-Corruption Establishment registered a criminal case under its Rules 2014.
