PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday expressed annoyance over the closure of a passage in Peshawar by the Frontier Constabulary despite its orders and ordered its immediate closure again.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed that the court had in clear terms asked the FC to re-open the route for passage of pedestrians and motorcyclists, but that order had not been complied with in the name of security.

The chief justice observed that the law-enforcement agencies and security forces had besieged themselves by blocking different roads in the name of security to the misery of ordinary people.

The route connects different localities, including Civil Quarters and Peshawar Saddar.

People of different areas use the said route in large number, but the FC, whose commandant’s office is situated in nearby area, installed a gate few weeks ago on the route and closed it for general public.

The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by lawyer Aamir Sabbir, who insisted the said route had been used for the last many decades by pedestrians and motorcyclists while moving between different busy and congested areas between Civil Quarters and FC intersection in Peshawar Sadder.

He said the said route had been used mostly by students and government servants while going to educational institutions and offices and returning back home.

The counsel said on May 30, a bench of the high court had granted interim relief to the petitioner and directed the reopening of the passage until final disposal of the petition. He, however, said the authorities had not been complying with the order.Umar Zafran, lawyer the FC, said the passage was closed due to security reasons. He said a rocket attack had also taken place in the said area.

The chief justice observed that rocket attacks had taken place almost in every place and no place was left out, so it did not mean that all those places should be closed down for people.

Justice Qaisar Rasheed observed that it was an injustice that a route used for many decades by the people was closed down abruptly.

The bench directed the FC’s counsel to convey to the high ups about the decision of the high court and should positively re-open the route for general public. The bench adjourned hearing of the case to next date, which would be fixed later on.The petitioner said the act of the FC had badly affected the people of several localities, including Kotla Mohsin Khan, Nauthia Jadeed, Nauthia Qadeem, Landi Arbab, Dehri Baghbanan and Gulgusht Colony.

He said the act of the FC was illegal and unconstitutional as they had placed undue restrictions on freedom of movement of vast majority of people. He requested the court to declare the closure of the route by the FC as unconstitutional.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014