Pakistan's Islamabad High Court on Friday ordered the chief secretary and police chief of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to submit affidavits on security and administrative arrangements ahead of a planned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf march towards the federal capital later this month.
The order came during a hearing on a petition concerning the planned September 27 march.
What did the Islamabad High Court order over the PTI march?
The court questioned the role of provincial authorities in political protests and whether its constitutional jurisdiction extended to officials outside Islamabad.
A three-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Sarfraz Dogar adjourned the hearing until Monday after a heated exchange over jurisdiction, the right to political protest and the responsibilities of provincial authorities.
Why did KP challenge the court's jurisdiction?
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shah Faisal challenged the Islamabad High Court's authority to issue directions to officials in another province, arguing that its constitutional jurisdiction was limited to the Islamabad Capital Territory. He said allowing one high court to exercise authority over officials in other provinces could undermine Pakistan's federal structure under the Constitution and the 18th Amendment.
"The first question is whether jurisdiction can be assumed or not," he told the court, arguing that the petitioner was effectively seeking to give the Islamabad High Court nationwide jurisdiction.
He also questioned whether the petition was maintainable, arguing that the political party against which the case had been brought had not been formally made a respondent and therefore had not been given an opportunity to respond. The court directed only the KP chief secretary and inspector general of police to appear on Monday, saying other officials previously summoned would not be required to attend.
What did the court ask KP's government about the protest?
Chief Justice Dogar questioned KP authorities over statements attributed to Chief Minister Sohail Afridi regarding the proposed political activity, asking whether Afridi was acting in his constitutional capacity as head of the provincial government or as a member of a political party. The KP advocate general maintained that the chief minister had made no statement contrary to the Constitution, the law or the state.
The court also questioned why political protests and long marches repeatedly moved towards Islamabad. "Is an attack on the federal capital a political activity?" the chief justice asked, after the KP chief secretary described the planned action as a political activity. Dogar said the court could intervene if the rights of Islamabad residents were affected.
How did the KP and Punjab advocates general clash in court?
The KP advocate general argued that citizens had a constitutional right to protest, particularly over what he described as the non-implementation of judicial orders concerning Adiala Jail over the past two years.
The chief justice rejected any connection between the listing of court cases and public protests, saying case scheduling was an administrative matter for the judiciary. The exchange grew tense when Dogar accused the advocate general of effectively attacking the judiciary, and Shah Faisal separately objected to the use of containers to block roads around KP House in Islamabad ahead of protests.
Punjab Advocate General Barrister Zafarullah later appeared before the court and defended civil liberties while objecting to remarks by the KP advocate general concerning Punjab's chief minister. Zafarullah said the Punjab chief minister was not a party to the case and was not present in court, adding that the provincial government's responsibility was to protect citizens. "The court is a judicial forum, not a political forum," he said. The KP advocate general, meanwhile, argued that the case appeared to have a political dimension rather than being purely legal, and referred to statements by political leaders from Punjab and the federal government.
The court ultimately ordered the KP chief secretary and inspector general of police to submit affidavits before the next hearing.
Comments
See what people are discussing