Islamabad: A leading activist of Pakistan’s ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was freed after an Islamabad court ruled her arrest illegal. Sanam Javed spent over a year in detention after she participated in demonstrations following the arrest of then Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption allegations in May 2023. The Islamabad High Court said no more arrests could be made against Javed in multiple cases and warned her against using social media.
Her lawyer, Ali Ashfaq, had raised the issue of the legality of her being subjected to multiple arrests under anti-terrorism legislation in various cities. The court also referred to the political context of the cases amid reports that PTI has been complaining about authorities targeting members supporting Khan, who is still imprisoned. Pakistani authorities have denied charges of bias against Khan and his backers.
