Sanam Javed, a PTI activist, finally went free on Thursday after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that her arrest was “illegal” and let her to return to Punjab.
On Monday, the IHC ordered her freedom and directed the police and other law enforcement authorities not to arrest her again.
The judgment brought some relief to Javed, who has been in prison for over a year after being charged in a dozen instances since the May 9, 2023 riots.
In his decision, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb restricted her from leaving Islamabad while also instructing the PTI activist to “avoid unnecessary rhetoric” or the court would rescind its judgment.
On Tuesday, the PTI sent its activist to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) House with her family members to avert her “disappearance.”
On July 11, the Lahore High Court dismissed a complaint filed against her in Gujranwala in connection with the May 9 incidents.
Sanam Javed contested her physical remand in a new case from Gujranwala after being granted bail in all crimes filed against her in Lahore.
However, she was apprehended by Islamabad police as soon as she stepped out of the central jail in Gujranwala on Saturday.
On Sunday, a judicial magistrate freed her of the charges, but she was detained again by the Balochistan Police.
Justice Aurangzeb, who was considering a plea submitted by Javed’s father, made the decision to let her walk free on Thursday.
In court, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan stated, “Sanam Javed will not be arrested in any further case.”
After the hearings, the IHC pronounced Javed’s arrest “illegal” and denied her bail plea.
AGP Awan noted that the Balochistan Police was not pursuing the remand request.
“Sanam Javed is now free and can go to her province [Punjab],” he informed us.
