PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has granted interim bail to scores of PTI activists detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance following the imposition of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, directing them to furnish two surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

A PHC bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan granted interim relief in around 35 petitions filed by Akbar Shah and dozens of other detainees, mostly held at Mardan Central Prison. It fixed Nov 12 for the next hearing and directed the petitioners to furnish the bonds to the satisfaction of the respective deputy commissioners.

The petitions challenge detention orders, mostly issued by the provincial home department under Section 3 of the West Pakistan MPO Ordinance, 1960, as illegal.

PHC declares relief must not be construed as court’s opinion on legality of detention orders

The bench clarified that the relief was purely interlocutory and should not be construed as an expression of opinion on the legality of the detention orders or the petitioners’ entitlement to final relief. It said all questions, including maintainability, would remain open for determination at the appropriate stage.

The court also directed the deputy commissioners concerned to submit reports, as previously ordered, explaining the reasons and circumstances leading to the petitioners’ detention.

It observed that the reports had not been received despite earlier directions. In their absence, the bench said, it had examined the material available on record to determine whether the petitioners qualified for interim relief, without making any final determination on their claims.

The petitioners’ lawyers, including Muhammad Yasir Khattak, Azhar Rahim, Zahir Muhammad, Nasir Khan Safi, Nadeem Shah and Ashfaq Daudzai, argued that the detention orders were identical and contained no specific grounds, reference to particular incidents or details of any individual acts to substantiate the allegations and apprehensions cited by the authorities.

The bench also referred to three earlier petitions in which other detainees had been granted similar interim relief against furnishing surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

It observed that those orders constituted relevant judicial consideration in deciding the present petitions.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2026