Sohail Afridi, 14 PTI lawmakers: FCC asked to order immediate release

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate have jointly approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) seeking the immediate release of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and 14 other elected representatives allegedly held in state custody.

National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas filed a petition on Saturday, requesting judicial intervention over what they described as unlawful arrests, detention and restrictions on elected lawmakers.

Afridi has not appeared publicly since the federal government imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11. A federal minister confirmed the following day that Afridi and some members of his cabinet were in preventive custody.

Although the provincial government’s powers have been transferred to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, PTI maintains that Afridi continues to hold the chief minister’s position with the backing of party founder Imran Khan.

The petition seeks the release of Afridi, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and seven other provincial lawmakers along with six members of the National Assembly.

The provincial representatives named include Fazal Shakoor Khan, Dr Amjad Ali, Sultan Room, Yameen Khan, Abdus Salam Afridi, Muhammad Azam Khan and Ikram Ghazi.

The six MNAs identified in the petition are Junaid Akbar Khan, Dr Amjad Ali Khan, Iqbal Khan Afridi, Fazal Mohammad Khan, Zubair Wazir and Maulana Naseem Ali Shah.

The petition argues that the alleged detention of elected representatives raises serious constitutional questions involving fundamental rights, democratic representation and the limits of executive authority.

The opposition leaders have asked the FCC to direct authorities to disclose where the allegedly detained lawmakers are being held and identify the officials responsible for their custody.

They have also requested that the individuals be produced before the court so their legal status and the circumstances of their detention can be examined.

The petition contends that the Constitution protects elected representatives from arbitrary state action and that restrictions preventing lawmakers from performing their parliamentary duties could undermine the electorate’s right to representation.

It further questions whether targeting legislators because of their political affiliation or opposition activities amounts to discriminatory treatment and political victimisation.

The petition refers to Articles 232, 234 and 245 of the Constitution, arguing that emergency provisions, governor’s rule and the deployment of armed forces must remain within constitutional limits.

It maintains that extraordinary government measures do not give state authorities unrestricted powers to disregard fundamental rights or suppress political dissent.

The applicants have also cited Articles 4, 9, 10, 14, 17 and 19-A, which concern legal protection, liberty, safeguards against detention, human dignity, freedom of association and access to information.

Federal secretaries of interior and defence, the KP chief secretary, provincial police officials, the Peshawar deputy commissioner and the FIA director general are among those named as respondents.

The latest petition follows a separate application filed on Thursday by PTI lawmaker Shandana Gulzar who also sought the release of Afridi, the provincial assembly speaker and other party members.

Her petition similarly requested authorities to reveal the detainees’ whereabouts, the legal basis for their custody and the circumstances surrounding their arrest.