PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has again approached the Peshawar High Court to nominate one of its judges to probe the May 9, 2023, violent protests in the province.

Official sources told Dawn that the home and tribal affairs department had sent a letter to the high court’s registrar, seeking a judge’s nomination for the May 9 violence investigation.

Sources in the high court confirmed receipt of that request.

A senior official told Dawn that the home department wrote to the court following a cabinet decision.

He said under Section 3 of the West Pakistan Tribunal of Inquiry Ordinance 1969, the government was empowered to appoint a tribunal or commission of inquiry to look into any matter of public importance and therefore, it made that request to the high court.

Home dept writes to PHC following cabinet decision

On June 27, 2024, the provincial cabinet decided to establish a judicial commission to probe the May 9, 2023, riots that erupted in the province following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder and former prime minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.

On July 29, provincial advocate general Shah Faisal Utmankhel wrote a letter to the Peshawar High Court’s registrar, seeking formation of a judicial commission to find “facts” about the May 9 violent protests in the province.

In the letter, Mr Utmankhel said that the objective of the proposed judicial commission was to “inquire into the facts surrounding the May 9 [violence], which is a public importance issue.”

He added that the jurisdiction of the inquiry officer was concerned on any matter that had been dealt in sections 178 and 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, so the commission, according to the law, had got every jurisdiction to conduct inquiry under those laws.

“Being principal law officer of the province, the provincial government has tasked the undersigned to consult with chief justice PHC for nominating a judicial officer as chairman of the commission,” he argued in the letter.

The advocate general said he should be informed about the judicial officer(s) for notifying the probe tribunal or commission.

However, the high court refused to consider that request, insisting that its current form violates rules.

In a formal response to the letter on August 9, the high court’s registrar said the request couldn’t be considered in its present form for being in violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rules of Business, 1985.

On May 10, 2024, the provincial assembly passed a resolution, demanding an “independent” judicial inquiry into last year’s riots and the release of their CCTV footage.

The resolution, which was adopted by a majority vote, read, “This assembly recommends that the provincial government ask the federal government to immediately withdraw all fake cases against Qaidi Number 804 [prisoner No 804] Imran Khan and [his wife] Bushra Bibi, and release all May 9 prisoners so that the agitation in the public ends. May 9 incidents should be probed by an independent judicial commission, and their CCTV footage should be made public.”

On May 9, 2023, violent protests were reported across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, like other parts of the country, with mobs torching a Peshawar building that housed the offices of Radio Pakistan and APP news agency to protest the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan in Islamabad.

Pitched battles broke out between the police and protesters in the province as the latter tried to enter the Khyber Road where key installations were located.

Violence left seven people dead and more than 122 injured in the province.

Police arrested 274 people across the province over the May 9 riots.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024