The story of Justice Pro bono & Mian Ali Ashfaq

The energetic young lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq has become well-known after he was seen rushing from one courthouse to another to represent his childhood friend and well-known anchor Imran Riaz Khan.

Due to his impeccable dedication and an unrivaled commitment to his cause, Ashfaq, who is in his late-thirties, has established himself as a true jewel in the legal community. Within a decade of starting his practice, he had established himself as the top choice for representing high-ranking officials in the military, government, and politics in court. Here some cases which he represented in recent history.

Imran Riaz Khan: Imran Riaz Khan, a senior broadcast journalist from Pakistan, was freed by a provincial court in Lahore, Pakistan’s eastern capital after it threw out the “hate speech” accusation against him. He was detained as he attempted to go to the United Arab Emirates after making “violence-inducing remarks” during a speech at a conference.

His detention prompted a response from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a group located in New York, which urged Pakistani officials to “immediately and unconditionally” free him. His attorney, Mian Ali Ashfaq, shared a photo of Khan and wrote on Twitter that he is taking him with him again.

Jameel Farooqui: The Islamabad Police released Jameel Farooqui from his two-day physical remand and brought him before court magistrate Shoaib Akhtar. The police asked for a three-day transit remand of him and his phone was taken into custody after he was accused of insulting official institutions in a vlog. Mian Ali Ashfaq, his lawyer, asked the court to dismiss the case due to his client having no connection to the accusations made against him. The court determined that Jameel Farooqui should be turned over to the FIA for additional investigation after hearing from all parties involved.

Shahid Aslam: Shahid Aslam was detained without a warrant, sent to the federal capital, and pressured to give information that he has a fundamental right not to. The Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa claimed that the tax record of his family members was released but neither the FBR nor the FIA took any action. The FIA and the authorities launched an investigation and filed a case, although Shahid Aslam was not identified in it. Afterward, the editor of Fact Focus tweeted a denial of the claim that Shahid was a staff member of the website. According to Mian Ali Ashfaq, the attorney for Aslam, the accusation against his client was made based on speculations, claiming that only verbal evidence had been used against him.

Major Harris: The security staff of political figures Khawaja Salman Rafique and Hafiz Nauman was claimed to have beaten up and tortured an army official, Major Harris. Four guards who were connected to the case were detained and two Punjab Assembly members were taken into custody. Attorney Mian Ali Ashfaq, who represents Maj Harris, said his client informed his father of the specifics and recorded a statement at the police station. The police will act according to their own procedures if there is a suspect in this case.

Lt. Gen. Amjad Shoaib: Amjad Shoaib, a retired general and defense analyst applied for bail and was granted immediate release by the District and Sessions Court of Islamabad. The bail request was heard before District Judge Abbas Shah, a judicial magistrate, and his attorney, Mian Ashfaq, presented his case before the court. The court temporarily reserved its ruling regarding the bail application and stated that no official has filed a complaint against Lt. Gen. Retd., and that the allegations were false. Amjad Shoaib’s attorney read the transcript of the proceedings at the hearing and it was declared in front of the court that Amjad Shoaib used the phrase “if, for instance” in the program.