PHC seeks replies over detention of Sohail Afridi, other PTI leaders

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday sought responses from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and senior police officials, including the provincial inspector general, over petitions concerning the detention and alleged disappearance of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed directed the respondents to submit their replies by November 3, when the petitions will be taken up for further hearing.

Afridi has not appeared in public since emergency rule and governor’s rule were imposed in KP on October 11. A federal minister confirmed the following day that the chief minister and some members of his cabinet were in preventive custody. However, their whereabouts have not been officially disclosed.

The petitions also concern the alleged disappearance or detention of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI lawmakers Junaid Akbar and Dr Amjid Ali, provincial minister Amjid Ali Khan, MPAs Ikramullah and Aurangzeb Khan, former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Muhammad Khalid Khursheed and other party leaders.

Afridi’s brother, Muhammad Aamir, approached the high court last week, alleging that the chief minister was detained at the Chief Minister’s House before being taken away by unidentified armed and masked individuals.

During Tuesday’s hearing, his lawyer, Bashir Vazir, claimed that Afridi was illegally detained at around 2pm on October 11 and subsequently taken from the premises in the presence of the Peshawar capital city police officer. He argued that the authorities had not disclosed any warrant, order or other legal basis for the alleged detention.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the relevant authorities to establish Afridi’s whereabouts, disclose his current condition and legal status, and explain the steps taken to trace him. He also requested that Afridi be presented before the court if he was in custody so that the legality of his detention could be examined.

A similar petition was filed by Waqar Ahmad Khan, a cousin of Babar Saleem Swati. His counsel alleged that the assembly speaker was taken away from the KP Assembly at around 7pm on October 11 by unidentified armed and masked men in the presence of the Peshawar CCPO.

The petitioners urged the court to order the preservation and examination of CCTV footage, security records, entry and exit registers, duty rosters and vehicle access logs related to the alleged incidents. They also sought the registration of first information reports and impartial investigations into the alleged abductions and detentions.

The petitions further request that the authorities establish the whereabouts of the missing PTI leaders and ensure their release if they are found to be held without lawful authority.

Separate pleas have also been filed by Junaid Akbar’s nephew, Nadir Shah, and Khalid Khursheed’s brother, Hanif Ullah, seeking the recovery and production of the two politicians.