Their detention, since November 3, 2007, is in violation of Pakistani and International law.
The detention of the Chief Justice is in violation of basic due process principles embodied in Articles 9 and 10 of the Pakistani Constitution. As highlighted in a recent Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Briefing Paper:

The government has never issued a detention order for the Chief Justice. In the absence of a valid detention order, any detained person must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of his or her arrest.¹ The detention of the Chief Justice and his family is unconstitutional because the government has deprived the family of liberty without acting “in accordance with law.”²

The detention orders for Ahsan, Kurd and Mehmood are invalid on two grounds: failure to allege specific facts justifying detention and vagueness.

For detention orders to be valid under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance of 1960, they must allege specific facts justifying the conclusion that the detainee is a threat to “the maintenance of public order.”³ Instead of alleging specific facts, the orders contain conclusory statements claiming, for example, that the detainees are involved in activities challenging the writ of the government, have designs to create law and order situations, and will make inflammatory speeches that will promote hatred. A detention order cannot stand on such conclusory allegations without specific facts to support them.

Furthermore, under Pakistani law, detention orders must “not be vague and indefinite” so as to allows a detainee “to make representation against his detention…”⁴ The detention orders against Ahsan, Kurd and Mehmood fail to cite any specific acts by the detainees or to adduce any evidence justifying their detention. As such, the detention orders-and the physical detention-of Ahsan, Kurd, and Mehmood are unconstitutional.
The detention of Chaudry, Ahsan, Kurd and Mehmood are also in contravention of customary international law as established by The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR guarantees that “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest [or] detention.”⁵ The arrest and detention of Chaudry, Ahsan, Kurd and Mehmood are arbitrary under, and thus violative of, the UDHR because they are in clear violation of Pakistani law
Pakistan Justice Coalition echoes LUMS’ call for the government of Pakistan to end its policy of arbitrary arrest and detention and for the government to respect the fundamental rights of free expression, peaceful assembly and movement.
Pakistan Justice Coalition further calls on international human rights organizations to declare the detainees political prisoners and to vehemently call for their release.

The report is co-authored by members of a delegation from the United States National Lawyers Guild and is the result of a ten-day fact-finding visit to Pakistan to assess the status of the judiciary and the prospect for fair elections in light of recent attacks on judicial independence. The report criticizes U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan, concluding that U.S. support for President Musharaff and its failure to demand restoration of the deposed judges will have long-term negative impacts on the judiciary and the rule of law in Pakistan and damage regional safety and security.

The report also concludes that the upcoming elections are unlikely to meet international standards due to widespread systemic and structural problems, including pre-poll abuses and the failure to enforce existing election regulations. Additionally, the report addresses press freedom in Pakistan, noting that severe restrictions faced by all media, in particular the Urdu-language press, constitute a “serious threat” to Pakistan’s democratic development.

“The independence of the judiciary is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy. The United States’ support for a dictator and its failure to demand the reinstatement of the deposed judges is critically damaging demcratic development and threatening regional safety and security,” stated Rule of Law Project Director Devin Theriot-Orr.

David Gespass, the Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild and the leader of the delegation, stated that “We intend to share the report with the American people and place it before our elected representatives to help effect a drastic change in U.S. policy towards Pakistan that emphasizes human rights and democracy as the only real means of reducing the threat of terrorism.”

One respondent, Justice Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court, who refused to take the PCO oath, stated that Musharraf said to the U.S.A., I can’t fight the war on terrorism with a free press and an independent judiciary. But you cannot fight terrorism with state terrorism.

Pakistan has become a state where there are suicide bombings going on, where no one is safe. We have now lost more Pakistani soldiers than Americans have lost in Iraq, noted Imran Khan, leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. If you assess the policy now, it has been a disaster for the U.S., and it’s now become an even bigger disaster for Pakistan. And there’s no end in sight. Radicalism and extremism are growing by the day. This is now a monster that could actually destroy our country, concluded Khan.

Syed Mudasser Ameer, a barrister and a member of the executive committee of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association Action Committee, expressed a common view that when we used to talk about America, it was just another word for freedom. But the United States continued support for Musharraf has changed his views. Now, we say it would be better if we were still ruled by Britain, because there would still be rule of law, stated Ameer.

Professors Roger Normand and Justice (ret’d) Jawwad Khawaja of LUMS established the Rule of Law Project to serve as an academic clearinghouse for documentation and research regarding constitutionalism and the rule of law in Pakistan. The Project is developing a comprehensive report on the impacts of the PCO and seeking information from all lawyers and members of civil society who were arrested, detained, or mistreated following the PCO.