Lahore ATC disposes of petition by PTI leader Hammad Azhar’s mother, wife seeking permission to meet him

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday disposed of a petition filed on behalf of PTI leader Hammad Azhar’s mother and wife, seeking permission for them to meet the former federal minister, who is in police custody on physical remand in a May 9 case.

ATC-IV Judge Sardar Muhammad Akram Khan passed the order on September 17.

The petition sought directions to the relevant authorities to allow the petitioners to meet Azhar, who is confined in police lock-up, and to grant him access to legal counsel.

In his order, the judge noted that, when asked, the prosecution’s counsel had no response regarding Rule 26.28 of the Police Rules, 1934 — the provision governing family and legal access to people in police custody.

The judge also observed that the petitioners had earlier filed a similar writ petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC), which was dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty to seek a remedy before the appropriate forum.

The judge further noted that the case file did not show that the petitioners had first approached the police under Rule 26.28 before moving the court.

In light of this, the ATC judge directed the petitioners to submit a written application to the station house officer (SHO) of Sarwar Road police and instructed that, if approached, the SHO must strictly comply with the requirements of Rule 26.28 of the Police Rules, 1934.

With these observations, the judge disposed of the petition.

Advocate Zain Sheikh appeared for the petitioners and Deputy District Public Prosecutor Nayyar Naveed represented the state.

Hammad Azhar was arrested in Multan earlier this month and handed over to Lahore police in connection with cases related to the May 9 riots, including the attack on Jinnah House.

Azhar’s mother and wife had approached the ATC against the police for allegedly denying his family and lawyer access to him.

Ishrat Azhar, the mother, and Marriam Hammad, the wife, had filed a joint petition through their counsel, Abuzar Salman Niazi.