PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has issued notice to federal and provincial governments and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seeking their response to a plea seeking ban on any ‘anti-federation and anti-state’ march towards the federal capital or any other province.

A bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel was hearing a petition filed by a citizen of Peshawar, Momin Tariq, seeking multiple reliefs from the court, requesting to restrain protesters from blocking any public or private place, building or any vehicle on Grand Trunk Road, motorway route, cities or any other area during protest.

The petitioner has also requested the court to order organisers not to use money or hire protesters and also not to make their ‘anti-federation’ and ‘anti-state’ narration through public and social disturbance in individual or collective capacity.

He also sought directives of the court for federal government to issue an ordinance or enact a law for prohibiting ‘anti-state’ march towards another province or federal capital Islamabad.

Petitioner seeks ban on blocking highways during protests

The petition has also sought interim relief, requesting the court to restrain protesters, with or without consent of provincial government or any elected member of provincial or National Assembly, from violating any provision of the Constitution.

Respondents in the petition are federal government through attorney general for Pakistan, National Assembly and Senate through their respective secretaries, federal interior secretary, KP government through advocate general, KP chief secretary and Election Commission of Pakistan through its secretary.

Advocate Mohammad Hamdan appeared for the petitioner and stated that his client had observed serious violation of laws and the Constitution by ‘so-called’ protesters from the province during the last few years.

He said that provincial government through its political mandate misused resources, machineries and assets of the province against the stability of the State of Pakistan.

He questioned whether the Constitution permitted any protester or member of a political party to create disturbance between governments in the name of protests. The counsel stated that protesters were in fact state offenders, who used racial propaganda against the unity of the Federation of Pakistan.

He claimed that throughout territorial jurisdiction of high court, the political mandate had been misused that was a threat to the harmony between provinces and federation.

The lawyer cited several constitutional provisions, arguing that fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed therein had been violated by protesters. He added that the right to free movement of a citizen had been affected due to blockade of roads including GT Road and motorways, etc.

He claimed that the ‘so-called’ protesters mostly relied on provincial prejudices amongst citizens to destabilise harmony between provinces and Federation of Pakistan.

He questioned whether the Constitution of Pakistan allowed a particular parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian and provincial prejudice by any class or group of people against the state.

He said that Article 4 of the Constitution guaranteed that no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person should be taken except in accordance with law, but protesters continued to violate that provision.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2026