PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Friday gave a last chance to lawyers for 27 leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, to argue their petitions seeking details of cases filed against them and protective bail in those cases.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan fixed Oct 20 for the next hearing, directing the lawyers to appear fully prepared.

It declared that no further extensions would be granted and the cases would be decided.

The petitioners include Sohail Afridi, former chief minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur, MNAs Sheikh Waqas Akram, Shandana Gulzar, Faisal Amin Gandapur, Asad Qaiser, Naseem Shah, Yousaf Khan and Shahid Khattak, Senators Mashal Azam and Khurram Zeeshan, provincial minister Dr Amjad Ali, former minister Noorul Haq Qadri, advocate Naeem Haider Panjotha, former adviser to the chief minister retired Brig Mussadiq Abbasi and others.

In December last year, a high court bench had allowed an application by Islamabad’s chief commissioner requesting the court to constitute a larger bench to hear these pleas.

The chief commissioner had raised certain questions of law relating to the grant of omnibus orders and transit protective bails by the high court to the petitioners.

His main concern was that the petitioners in these cases obtained protective orders from the court but, pursuant to such orders, failed to approach or surrender before the appropriate forum.

“Consequently, they remained on bail before arrest for a considerable period of time without joining the investigation agencies in other provinces,” he maintained.

The larger bench had conducted a preliminary hearing on these petitions on Dec 26, 2025, following which no hearing had taken place in these cases, which were fixed for hearing after over nine months.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners informed the court that previously advocate Alam Khan Adenzai had been appearing in most of the cases, but he had become an additional advocate general, so new power of attorney documents would be submitted by the newly engaged lawyers.

Advocate Mohammad Inam Yousafzai, who is now representing some of the petitioners, submitted that a petitioner, Dr Amjad Ali, who is also a provincial minister, was picked up the previous night from his residence by unidentified armed men. He added that one of their MPAs, Abdul Salam, was also abducted a day earlier.

The provincial president of the Insaf Lawyers Forum, Ali Zaman, also stated that under current circumstances, their members were being taken by unknown individuals.

Justice Ijaz Anwar remarked that despite the PTI being in government in the province, its members were still being abducted.

Advocates Bashir Khan Wazir and Asif Babar informed the court that in accordance with the court’s orders issued last year, the petitioners had approached the Islamabad chief commissioner, but complete details of the cases registered against them had still not been provided.

The lawyers requested the court to issue orders prohibiting the arrest or harassment of the petitioners until their court appearance and to maintain the interim relief already granted.

The bench observed that direct orders could not be issued to authorities in Islamabad.

Inam Yousafzai contended that the court had previously ruled that these petitions could be heard by a regular division bench and that no differing opinion had emerged.

The petitioners’ lawyers stated that following court directions to approach the chief commissioner within three days, applications were submitted on time, and interim relief for compliant petitioners was meant to be extended.

Additional attorney general Sanaullah informed the court that a report had been submitted on the matter.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026