PHC refers Sohail Afridi detention petitions to chief justice for larger bench

The Peshawar High Court said on Tuesday that a larger bench should be constituted to hear petitions about the whereabouts of Sohail Afridi, Provincial Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and MNA Junaid Akbar. The case is being sent to the chief justice to form that bench, according to The Express Tribune.

A two-member bench of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Muhammad Faheem Wali heard the cases. Business Recorder, citing a PTI statement, reported that the case concerns the detention of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's non-functional chief minister, provincial lawmakers and PTI workers.

Justice Syed Arshad Ali said: "This is an important case, the province's chief minister is missing". Advocate General Sanaullah told the court: "It is our request too that a larger bench be constituted."

Sanaullah asked for time to submit a report sought from the police, law enforcement agencies and the Home Department. He noted there were more than 200 cases of MPO-3. Justice Ali said the court had given the advocate general 10 days.

Afridi's brother approached the PHC on October 13, seeking Afridi's recovery and an independent judicial inquiry into his disappearance. Emergency and governor's rule was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, ending the PTI-led provincial government and transferring its powers to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.

Yasir Khattak, counsel for the petitioners, alleged that a court order to de-seal the deputy speaker's house had not been implemented.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan welcomed the decision to refer the matter to the chief justice. He said "political tension should not escalate further". He also said the party's demands for a meeting with Imran Khan and for his medical treatment had not been accepted.

Separately, the report noted that Imran Khan's sisters Aleema, Uzma and Noreen were detained in September under Section 3 of the MPO as PTI prepared a protest march towards Islamabad. Aleema was detained on September 20 and the other two on September 21. Their initial 30-day orders were extended by another 30 days. Lawyer Salman Safdar met Imran Khan at the jail on Monday for about 40 minutes, after seven months of requests.