PHC Issues Final Warning to PTI Leaders Over Protective Bail Pleas

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday issued a final directive to legal counsels representing 27 prominent leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, ordering them to conclude arguments regarding petitions for protective bail and complete details of undisclosed cases registered against them.

A larger bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar, and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan fixed October 20 for the next hearing, explicitly making it clear that no further extensions or adjournments would be granted. Among those seeking legal protection alongside the chief minister are former chief minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur, key lawmakers Asad Qaiser, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Shandana Gulzar, Faisal Amin Gandapur, and several other senior party parliamentarians and former advisers.

The legal petitions highlight the ongoing constitutional and legal friction between the provincial leadership and federal law enforcement authorities, as numerous PTI leaders face multiple police cases filed across different jurisdictions in the country. The petitioners contend that secretive registrations of police complaints are aimed at restricting their political activities and preventing them from securing pre-arrest relief from appropriate courts.

The three-member bench directed all defense advocates to present themselves fully prepared at the upcoming proceeding, reiterating that the court will decide the matters on merit if arguments are not concluded. The current larger bench was constituted following an application submitted in December last year by Islamabad’s chief commissioner, who requested a unified higher panel to adjudicate the complex legal questions involved in these high-profile petitions.