The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday, October 20, sought replies from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the provincial police chief and other officials over the detention of deposed chief minister Sohail Afridi and several other PTI leaders, whose whereabouts have remained unknown since governor's rule was imposed on October 11.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed fixed the petitions for hearing on November 3 and directed the respondents, including the KP inspector general and the Peshawar capital city police officer, to submit their replies within that period, according to Dawn. The court's intervention comes at a moment when the federation's conduct in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa raises grave questions about the supremacy of the Constitution, a document won through the sacrifices of our forefathers and sworn upon the Holy Quran by every officeholder in this republic.
What the petitions before the Peshawar High Court say
Multiple petitions were filed after Afridi and other PTI figures vanished from public view on the night emergency was declared in the province. Afridi's brother, Muhammad Aamir, told the court that Afridi was taken from the Chief Minister's House on the night the emergency was imposed, and a federal minister confirmed a day later that the chief minister and some cabinet members were in preventive custody.
Aamir's counsel, Bashir Vazir, argued before the bench that at approximately 2pm on October 11, Afridi was illegally detained at the CM House and later taken from the premises, in the presence of the CCPO, by unknown armed and masked individuals. He contended that no lawful order, warrant or legal authority for the detention had ever been disclosed.
Afridi's brother asked the court to direct the police to trace and recover him, and, if found in custody, to order his production so the legality of his detention could be examined under Article 199(1)(b)(i) of the Constitution. That article empowers a high court to have a person in custody brought before it, so that the court may satisfy itself that he is not being held without lawful authority.
Speaker Swati, MNAs and MPAs also missing since October 11
The petitions reach beyond the chief minister. They concern the disappearance of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, MNAs Junaid Akbar and Dr Amjid Ali, provincial minister Amjid Ali Khan, MPAs Ikramullah and Aurangzeb Khan, and former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Muhammad Khalid Khursheed, among other PTI leaders.
Swati's cousin, Waqar Ahmad Khan, filed a similar petition through lawyer Inam Yousufzai, who told the court that at approximately 7pm on October 11 the speaker was taken from the KP Assembly, again in the presence of the CCPO, by unknown armed and masked men. HUM News reported that the high court has sought responses from the parties concerned within 10 days on the recovery pleas.
Junaid Akbar's nephew, Nadir Shah, and Khalid Khursheed's brother, Hanif Ullah, have also approached the court, challenging what their petitions describe as the abduction of the two politicians on the night of October 11.
Preservation of evidence and registration of FIR demanded
In both main petitions, the petitioners asked the court to order the preservation and lawful examination of all CCTV footage, security logs, entry and exit registers, duty rosters and vehicle access records relating to the incidents. They further sought the registration of a first information report and a prompt, impartial investigation into the alleged abductions and detentions.
The petitioners argued that the whereabouts and present condition of the PTI leaders must be ascertained immediately through lawful means, and that if they were found in unlawful custody, the court should order their release. Aamir's petition also asked the CCPO for a detailed report on the October 11 incident at the CM House, including the circumstances in which his brother was taken away, the security arrangements in place, the people present and the action taken afterward.
According to Daily Qudrat English, the petitioners' counsel informed the bench that the suspended chief minister and the assembly speaker had been missing for ten days, that the federal government had repeatedly claimed the men were in its custody, and that PTI leader Junaid Akbar and eleven other individuals had allegedly been taken away from the Speaker's House.
The constitutional question before the court
The court's November 3 hearing will test whether the federation can hold a chief minister, a speaker and lawmakers in undisclosed custody while the Constitution stands suspended in their province under emergency provisions. Article 199 exists precisely for moments like this, so that no citizen, however powerful or however fallen, disappears beyond the reach of the law.
Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and secured by the blood of those who marched under the banner of faith. The writ of the court is the writ of justice, and justice is the bedrock upon which the state of Madinah itself was raised. Whatever the political rights and wrongs of the PTI's governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and whatever the justification claimed for governor's rule, the republic cannot tolerate masked men carrying elected representatives into the night without warrant or explanation.
Our soldiers defend this soil on the eastern frontier and in the mountains where the TTP and Baloch separatists plot against the motherland, and the same discipline must bind those who govern at home. A state that demands sacrifice from its people owes them the protection of its laws in return.
The high court has given the government and police ten days to answer. On November 3, Peshawar will learn whether the Constitution speaks with authority in the land of the valiant, or whether it can be quietly set aside when power finds it inconvenient.
FAQ
What did the Peshawar High Court order on October 20?
The court sought replies from the KP government, the inspector general and other officials on petitions seeking the recovery of Sohail Afridi and other PTI leaders, and fixed the matter for hearing on November 3.
Where is Sohail Afridi?
His whereabouts have not been disclosed by the government. A federal minister confirmed he and some cabinet members were in preventive custody after governor's rule was imposed on October 11.
Which other PTI leaders are missing?
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, MNAs Junaid Akbar and Dr Amjid Ali, provincial minister Amjid Ali Khan, MPAs Ikramullah and Aurangzeb Khan, and former GB chief minister Khalid Khursheed, among others.
What legal provision have the petitioners invoked?
Article 199(1)(b)(i) of the Constitution, which allows a high court to order that a person in custody be produced before it to verify the legality of the detention.