LHC issues arrest warrant for Islamabad police chief in contempt case

• LHC issues warrant after IG failed to appear on show cause notice. 
• LHC asks police to arrest Dr Akbar Khan and present by Sept 18.
• Parvez Elahi's wife had filed a contempt case against Islamabad IG. 

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Islamabad's Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan in a contempt case registered against him for the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Parvez Elahi.

The LHC issued the warrant after the top cop failed to appear before the court on a show-cause notice and directed the police to arrest the federal capital's top cop and present him in court on September 18. 

The warrant was issued in the written order by Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf on the petition filed by Elahi’s wife Qaisara.

The warrant comes after the LHC, last week, had issued a show-cause notice for contempt of court to IG Dr Khan in connection with Elahi’s detention under 3-MPO (Maintenance of Public Order).

The LHC ordered the Islamabad police chief to appear before the court on September 8. However, he failed to do so.

Last month, the PTI president was rearrested under 3-MPO by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police shortly after being released by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and subsequently, the seasoned politician was put under house arrest in Adiala jail for the next 15 days. The ICT police rearrested him despite the LHC’s restraining order against his possible arrest.

Later, the former Punjab chief minister moved the LHC seeking contempt proceedings against the Islamabad IG.

Taking up the petition, the Lahore High Court ordered the Islamabad IG to appear before the court in this regard on September 8.

Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 from outside his residence in a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district.

Since then, Imran Khan's aide has been behind bars on various charges. During a span of around two and half months, the PTI leader was released multiple times on the courts’ orders but was rearrested immediately every time.

He was taken into custody during a crackdown launched against the party’s leadership following the May 9 riots.