PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday provided temporary relief to around 170 leaders and activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf in the province by suspending their detention orders issued under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance by the respective deputy commissioners following the May 9 and 10 violent protests.

After hearing the petitions of those activists of former prime minister Imran Khan`s party against their detention, the PHC benches in Peshawar, Abbottabad and Swat (Darul Qaza) declared that the petitioners, who had already been arrested, should befreed after furnishing bail bonds of different amount, whereas those, whose detention orders were issued and they were at large, shouldn`t be arrested until further order.The PHC`s Swat bench (Darul Qaza) heard 110 petitions filed by scores of former lawmakers belonging to Malakand region challenging the issuance oftheir detention orders by the deputy commissioners of Swat, Buner, Chitral, Upper and Lower Dir, and Malakand districts.

The bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Shahid Khan granted interim relief to the petitioners by suspending their detention orders and fixed June 6 for next hearing.

The bench sought records related to allpetitions.

Prominent among the petitioners were ex-MNA S aleemur Rehman, former MPAs, Fazal Hakeem, Azizullah Gran, Sharafat Ali, Muhibullah, Dr Amjid Ali, mayor of Mingora City Council Shahid Khan, and others.

Advocates Jehanzeb Nafees, Rahimullah Chitrali, Sohail Sultan and others appearedfor the petitioners and contended that the DCs had not applied their `independent mind` after receiving recommendations from the respective DPOs for issuance of the impugned detention orders.

In Peshawar, a PHC benchconsisting of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah stopped the district administration from arresting five PTI activists from Bajaur, including two former lawmakers,by suspendingtheir detention order issued by the local deputy commissioner.

It directed the five petitioners to submit two sureties each of Rs100,000 to the satisfaction of the deputy commissioner or additional deputy commissioner.

The court also declared that the petitioners should furnish an affidavit and undertaking that they won`t indulge in any anti-state activities and would attend the court on each and every date ofhearing untilthe decision on the petition.

As the case pertained to the jurisdiction of the PHC`s Mingora Bench (Darul Qaza), the court ordered hearinginto the case by that bench on May 30.

The petition was jointly filed by former provincial minister Anwer Zaib Khan, exMPA Ajmal Khan, and three other PTI local leaders, including Hamidur Rehman, Mohsin Khan and Ihsanul Haq, requesting the court to set aside the impugned detention order issued by the deputycommissioner on May 12 by declaring it illegal and unconstitutional.

They also requested the court to issue directives to the administration to produce all the record of other detention orders and FIRs related to the petitioners so that they could approach the relevant court for getting relief.

Advocate Mohammad Adil appeared for the petitioners and said apart from the impugned order issued under Section 3 of the MPO by the deputy commissioner, it had come to the knowledge of the petitioners that an FIR had also been registered against them at Khar police station on the directives of the Bajaur district police officer.

He, however, said the administration was reluctant to provide a copy of the FIR to the petitioners.

The lawyer said the local police in Bajaur had raided the houses of the petitioners many times, but luckily they could not be arrested as they were not present at their houses.

He contended that there was no evidence against the petitioners to show their involvement in any anti-state activity.In Abbottabad, a PHC bench consisting of Justice Kamran Hayat Khan Miankhel and Justice Ijaz Khan ordered release of several former ministers, lawmakers and activists arrested after the May 9 and 10 violent protests.

The bench heard 58 petitions challenging detention orders issued under Section 3 of the MPO by the deputy commissioners of Abbottabad, Mansehra and Haripur and fixed Jun 1 for next hearing.

The petitioners included former provincial ministers Qalandar Khan Lodhi and Ahmed Hussain Shah, city mayor Abbottabad Sardar Shuja Nabi, Ahmed Nawaz Khan, Taimur Khalid and others.

The respective deputy commissioners had issued detention orders insisting the petitioners are causing threat to public peace and tranquility.

Zafar Iqbal, Sardar Basharat and several other lawyers appeared for the petitioners and contended that detention orders by the deputy commissioners were illegal.

Correspondents Fazal Khalig of Swat and Rashid Javed of Abbottabad contributed to this report.