Constitutional court bars Peshawar High Court from hearing 3-MPO arrest cases
A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan issues notices and stops, for now, the enforcement of orders restraining the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration from making the arrests.
The Federal Constitutional Court has barred the Peshawar High Court from hearing petitions against arrests made under 3-MPO until further orders, granting an injunction on an appeal by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and issuing notices to all parties.
The ruling stops the enforcement of the high court's directions, which had restrained the provincial administration from arresting citizens under the public order provision.
A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan heard the provincial government's appeal against those orders. Justice Aamir Farooq sat on the bench.
The advocate general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told the bench that the high court could not use its powers under Article 199 of the Constitution in matters of this kind. Express News reported that he also argued that under Article 245 the high court could not intervene in an area where military operations were being conducted.
Justice Aamir Farooq asked whether, on that reasoning, the high court would stop hearing the several Article 199 cases that come before it every day.
Shah Faisal Ilyas, a former additional advocate general appearing for the parties who challenged the arrests, asked the bench to hear him in detail before it granted an injunction. He said the three objections raised by the provincial government could not be sustained in law.
Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan directed him to examine the detailed court order and then file his objections and reply. Express News quoted the chief justice as saying that notices were being issued to the parties in the matter, and that other parties could file applications after reading the order.
Express News reported that the petitions against the 3-MPO arrests include one filed by Sohail Afridi and others, and that the matter is pending before the Peshawar High Court. The provincial government had challenged several orders passed by the high court in the case.
The Constitutional Court's order leaves the high court's directions without effect while the appeal is heard. The bench adjourned the hearing indefinitely, saying the next date would be fixed later.
How the reports differ
Aaj News reported the advocate general's argument as confined to Article 199, while Express News also carried his contention that under Article 245 the high court cannot intervene in an area of military operations. Express News named Sohail Afridi as one of the petitioners whose case is pending in the Peshawar High Court, and led with Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan's remark that notices were being issued. Aaj News alone reported that the hearing was adjourned for an indefinite period, with the next date to be fixed later.
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