Opposition Leaders Challenge Detention of Sohail Afridi and Lawmakers in Federal Constitutional Court

Nine detained lawmakers, including non-functional Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, are at the center of a new legal battle as opposition leaders approach the Federal Constitutional Court, Dawn reported.

National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas jointly filed a petition before the Federal Constitutional Court on Saturday. The filing seeks the immediate release of Afridi, provincial assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati, and several other elected officials who have remained out of public view since October 11.

The Centre imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11. A federal minister confirmed the following day that Afridi and members of his cabinet were in preventive custody, though the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf maintains that Afridi remains the rightful chief minister.

The joint petition filed by Achakzai and Abbas questions executive authority, fundamental rights, and the protection of the democratic mandate.

Court reissues arrest warrant for suspended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM in Radio Pakistan attack case — Photo: The Meghalayan Express

The petition asks the court to order the production of the detained lawmakers, disclose their places of detention, and declare their current confinement unlawful. Respondents named in the filing include the federal secretaries of interior and defense, the KP chief secretary, and the Federal Investigation Agency director general.

The legal challenge argues that emergency measures under Articles 232, 234, and 245 cannot override fundamental rights. “The imposition of governor’s rule in a province does not end citizens’ fundamental rights, and every state action remains subject to judicial review by the Federal Constitutional Court,” the petition says.

ATC reissues arrest warrants for dismissed KP CM Sohail Afri — Photo: Pakistan Today

While the constitutional petition unfolds in Islamabad, separate legal challenges continue in provincial courts. An anti-terrorism court in Peshawar reissued arrest warrants for Afridi on Wednesday in connection with the 2023 Radio Pakistan attack case, The Meghalayan Express reported.

The case stems from violent protests and arson on May 9 and 10, 2023, following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan. Defense counsel Advocate Ali Zaman told the court that Afridi’s whereabouts remain unknown after he was removed from the Chief Minister’s House, noting that his arrest has not been formally recorded, according to Pakistan Today.

The anti-terrorism court extended the interim pre-arrest bail of former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Kamran Bangash, alongside Peshawar party president Irfan Saleem, until November 17.

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