KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday approached the Sindh High Court (SHC), challenging the alleged detention of more than 180 party workers during police raids in Karachi and other parts of Sindh under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance.
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The party claimed that Sindh police carried out pre-dawn raids on Sunday at the homes of PTI workers and leaders, detaining around 180 individuals. The provincial government, however, has denied the allegations.
The petition was filed by PTI Sindh General Secretary Mansoor Ali and Insaf Lawyers Forum President Faisal Mughal, seeking to have the MPO orders dated February 1 declared unlawful and demanding the immediate release of detained party workers.
Fourteen respondents were named in the petition, including the provincial chief secretary, additional chief secretary, inspector general of police Sindh, Central Police Office, additional IGP Karachi, deputy inspectors general of east, west and south zones, and senior superintendents of police from multiple Karachi districts.
The petitioners urged the court to declare the MPO orders “unconstitutional, illegal, without lawful authority, void ab initio, and of no legal effect.”
They alleged that law enforcement agencies conducted “hundreds of illegal raids,” entering private homes without warrants, often late at night, and detaining citizens without due process. The petition further claimed that police personnel broke doors, vandalised property and looted personal belongings in what it described as 180 documented cases.
According to the petition, the detention orders were issued without any lawful decision or approval by the provincial cabinet, in violation of several constitutional provisions guaranteeing fundamental rights.
The petitioners argued that the orders amounted to a politically motivated misuse of authority aimed at suppressing peaceful democratic activity rather than maintaining public order. They maintained that PTI, as a recognised political party, has a constitutional right to organise and engage in peaceful political activities.
The petition seeks suspension and cancellation of the MPO orders, restraint on authorities from acting on them, and immediate release of all individuals detained under the orders if not required in any other case. It also asks the court to bar fresh arrests on the same grounds and to declare all related actions illegal and unconstitutional.
The petition further alleges that minors, women and elderly citizens were among those affected by warrantless raids, arrests and detentions. The petitioners also requested the court to call for the complete official record behind the issuance of the MPO orders, including intelligence reports and cabinet approvals.
In addition, the petition seeks contempt proceedings against the additional chief secretary (home), alleging repeated defiance of earlier court rulings on MPO-related matters.
Meanwhile, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh said in a post on X that 180 party office-bearers and workers had been jailed for one month under MPO-3 for announcing a peaceful strike scheduled for February 8.
He alleged that while government ministers publicly denied arrests, detention orders were quietly issued later the same night.
“This is not governance; it is repression, deception, and abuse of power,” Sheikh said.
The Sindh government has rejected PTI’s claims, calling them false and misleading. Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said no mass arrests or blanket MPO detentions had taken place, adding that law enforcement agencies were acting strictly within the law.
He said PTI was spreading false narratives to generate political momentum ahead of its planned protest on February 8.
