Postpones until February 12 the hearing of petitions to challenge sentences handed down by military courts to five people
The Peshawar High Court on Thursday suspended the functioning of the inquiry commission formed by the Speaker of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to probe the incidents of May 9 and 10, 2023, when violent riots broke out across the country following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The court also directed counsel for all parties to assist the court in the legal aspects of the commission and the ongoing trial in future hearings before adjourning the proceedings.
The directive came during the hearing of a writ petition filed by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) by a two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal. PBC lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, Additional Advocate General Abdul Rauf Afridi and the speaker’s legal agents were present at the hearing.
Read also: PHC questions May 9 commission of inquiry
The petition claimed that during the violent incidents on May 9 and 10, the Radio Pakistan building was attacked and damaged. Following the attack, a case was opened against the accused under anti-terrorism provisions, including current members of the provincial assembly. On December 12, the president issued a notification establishing a commission of inquiry, which also included assembly members.
Gigyani argued that since some assembly members were already named in the case, they could not act as judges in a matter in which they were accused.
He added that the spokesperson had no legal authority to create a commission of inquiry for a case currently in progress. The notification, he claimed, had no legal force and was not issued under any bill.
The court halted the commission’s operations and adjourned the hearing.
PHC postpones hearing on military court sentences until February 12
The PHC court separately adjourned the hearing of writ petitions challenging the sentences handed down by military courts to five persons until February 12.
The petitions were filed by Rais, Adnan Ahmad, Sohrab Khan, Bashir Ahmad and Rahimullah. Advocate Aamirullah Khan Chamkani represented the petitioners, while Additional Solicitor General Sanaullah appeared on behalf of the federation.
During the proceedings, the petitioners’ attorneys informed the court that five separate writ petitions had been filed against the convictions handed down by the military courts.
The additional attorney general told the court that in each case the sealed file had been submitted to the court and that the convicts had also filed appeals before the Field Marshal’s Court, urging the high court to await decisions on those appeals.
Read: PHC rejects all petitions against military court sentences
The petitioners’ counsel responded that the federation had previously asserted that no appeals were pending, while now maintaining that appeals were under consideration. He argued that if there were indeed appeals pending before the Field Marshal’s Court, relevant records should be provided to the petitioners, adding that the rulings were handed down in 2024 and decisions on the appeals should have already been announced.
Justice Asadullah observed that the matter could be returned to the court that earlier heard the case. As per the suggestion, the court transferred the petitions to the previous court and adjourned the hearing till February 12.
