PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has approved a supplementary application filed by the Islamabad chief commissioner seeking the constitution of a larger bench in petitions related to the protective bail of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and others.
The court referred all petitions to the PHC chief justice for placing them before a larger bench, while extending the petitioners’ interim protective bail.The other petitioners are Pakistan Tehreeek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Member National Assembly Asad Qaiser, former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Shandana Gulzar, Dr Amjad Ali, Faisal Amin Gandapur, Syed Qasim Ali Shah, Yousaf Khan, Waqas Akram Shaikh, Noorul Haq Qadri, Naeem Haider Panjotha, Musaddiq Abbasi and Khurram Zeeshan.
The court accepted the request of the federal prosecutor general of Islamabad for the formation of a larger bench.The petitions were heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali.
When the hearing began, the KP chief minister, his counsel Basheer Khan Wazir, Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmanzai, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah, Ali Zaman Advocate, Barrister Waqar, Babar Asif Advocate and Islamabad Prosecutor General Ghulam Sarwar Nihang appeared before the court,
Counsel for the petitioners told the court that their clients had approached the court seeking details of the FIRs registered against them, as they still did not know how many cases existed and in which jurisdictions they were lodged.The Islamabad prosecutor general informed the court that he had come from Islamabad and that the chief commissioner had filed a supplementary application being heard that day.
He argued that petitioners were being granted extra relief in the petitions seeking protective bail and case details, and that some individuals had filed multiple identical protective bail petitions, which was affecting investigations. The prosecutor general said similar cases had already been decided by the Islamabad, Lahore and Sindh high courts, therefore all such matters should be decided at a single forum.
Justice Syed Arshad Ali asked how such consolidation could be done when the prosecution had already provided certain details.The prosecutor general stated that some petitioners had been on protective bail for almost a year, and people from Punjab also approached the PHC for transit or protective bail even when cases fell within the jurisdiction of Punjab or Islamabad.
Justice Arshad Ali directed the prosecutor to provide full FIR details so the court could dispose of the petitions. The prosecutor general said he did not have complete FIR data and that the petitioners should instead approach the Islamabad High Court, which was geographically close. Justice Arshad Ali responded that the PHC would decide based on whatever details the prosecution provided.
Justice Faheem Wali added that while the prosecutor argued protective bail should be limited to 10-15 days, the court could not proceed without complete information from the state.The prosecutor noted that the chief minister’s own petition involved the KP police and Anti-Corruption Department as respondents, and therefore a larger bench was required. However, the KP advocate general said there was no need for a larger bench and that the petitions were routine in nature.
When asked for his view, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah said intelligence suggested that some petitioners obtained protective bail but did not join the investigation, therefore a larger bench should decide the matter.
