PHC issues notices on petitions challenging emergency, governor’s rule in KP

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to submit their response to petitions challenging the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province on October 11.

A two-member bench comprising Justices Ijaz Anwar and Muhammad Faheem Wali heard several petitions against the October 11 measures and issued notices to the federal and provincial governments. The court adjourned the proceedings until November 10 after hearing preliminary arguments.

The petitions include one filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, who approached the court on October 14 seeking to have the emergency and governor’s rule declared unconstitutional. PTI leader Shandana Gulzar, the KP Bar Council and leaders of Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) have also challenged the measures.

During the hearing, Barrister Sameer Khosa, representing Gohar, argued that Article 232(1) of the Constitution made approval by the provincial assembly mandatory before an emergency could be imposed. He said the requirement had not been met and maintained that the security situation in KP was not beyond the provincial government’s control.

Although the National Assembly and Senate subsequently approved the measures, Khosa told the court that this approval had also been challenged through a miscellaneous application.

The counsel further argued that the provincial administration had effectively been prevented from functioning. He told the bench that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the provincial assembly speaker were “missing” and confirmed, in response to a question from the judges, that the petition sought their recovery or production before the court.

Referring to a Supreme Court judgment involving former KP chief minister Pir Sabir Shah, Khosa argued that a chief minister and cabinet could continue to function even during an emergency.
“In the current case, the chief minister, the cabinet and the advocate general have been stopped from working and rendered inactive,” he said. He added that the petition sought restoration of the provincial assembly and the release of Afridi and the speaker.

PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, who also appeared for Gohar, said the emergency and governor’s rule had been imposed without fulfilling the legal requirements. He called for the measures to be revoked and the assembly restored.

Gohar told the court that the PTI-led provincial government had supported the federal government’s efforts to combat terrorism. He alleged that 12 PTI-affiliated members of the National Assembly and 14 members of the provincial assembly had been picked up, while raids were being carried out at the homes of party members.

He also claimed that deputy commissioners, district police officers and officials in the advocate general’s office had been replaced on October 11.