PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has filed a contempt petition with the Peshawar High Court against the provincial caretaker government and Mansehra’s district administration for not allowing its workers convention despite court orders.

The petition was filed by the PTI’s provincial president Ali Amin Gandapur, its provincial legal coordinator Mashal Azam and Insaf Lawyers Forum provincial vice-president Malik Arshad Ahmad, requesting the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the responsible officers including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, Mansehra deputy commissioner, its district police officer and others.

The petition was filed through senior counsel Shah Faisal Uthmankhel insisting that a high court bench had disposed of on Oct 26 a plea of the petitioners allowing the PTI to carry out political activities in the province.

The petitioners said the provincial advocate general had assured the court that there was no prohibition from any quarter against the holding of the PTI’s workers convention and election campaign.

Insists it wasn’t allowed to hold workers convention in Mansehra despite high court orders

They said the court had issued a detailed judgement directing the deputy commissioner to allow with “reasonable restrictions” the PTI’s leadership and workers to conduct the workers convention and conduct election campaign.

The petitioners said their party intended to hold a workers’ convention in Mansehra on Nov 5 and formally sought a no objection certificate (NOC) from the deputy commissioner on Oct 30 for it.

They added that the DC referred the application to the DPO but no reply was given by the DC for many days before he regretted to grant that permission.

The petitioners said the local PTI workers had made arrangements for the event but the administration and police uprooted the stage and also arrested some of them.

The respondents in the petition are provincial chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, IGP Akhter Hayat Khan, Mansehra DC retired Captain Bilal Ahmad Rao, Mansehra DPO Zahoor Babar Afridi, and five other police officials.

A high court bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmad had delivered the verdict in two petitions filed by the current petitioners and Insaf Lawyers Forum leader Ali Zaman, who had accused the government of stopping its leaders and workers from canvassing in the province, including the holding of rallies and gatherings, for the forthcoming general polls.

It had observed that it was expected that the district administration should perform their legal obligations strictly in accordance with the law, since they were bound by the Constitution of the country and the Elections Acts, 2017, and any of their actions, which militated against the law, couldn’t be countenanced in any manner.

The bench had observed that a caretaker government was supposed to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold free and fair elections in the country.

DETAILS SOUGHT: A bench of the high court consisting of the Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Justice Wiqar Ahmad once again sought details from the provincial government about the criminal cases and inquiries pending against former PTI MNA Shahid Khattak.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mashal Yousafzai, contended that the court had sought details from the government but they had yet to be filed.

He said the petitioner was arrested on different charges but secured bail from the relevant courts.

The lawyer said the petitioner had been re-arrested several times in fake cases registered against him.

She requested the court to issue directives to the government and law enforcing agencies to provide details about the cases pending against the petitioner so that he could approach the relevant courts to get relief.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023