PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday declared inadmissible a writ petition seeking enhanced security for religious scholars following the assassination of prominent cleric Maulana Muhammad Idrees and attacks on other ulema as well as a martyrs’ compensation package for slain scholars.
The court ordered that the petition be returned along with the case record, ruling that the petitioner was neither an aggrieved party nor did the matter qualify as a public interest petition.The court observed that such a case would require the involvement of an affected person or a religious scholar directly concerned by the issue.
The matter came before PHC Senior Puisne Judge Justice Ijaz Anwar, who heard a petition challenging objections raised by the Registrar’s Office.During the proceedings, petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Hamdan advocate argued that the establishment of a Ulema Protection Council and the provision of martyrs’ packages for slain religious scholars had become essential in view of increasing terrorist attacks targeting clerics.
He asked the government to provide security to ulema in the public interest, establish a dedicated protection cell, and extend compensation packages to the families of scholars killed in such incidents.
However, the Registrar’s Office had objected to the petition on the grounds that the petitioner was not an affected party. Challenging those objections, the petitioner approached the high court and requested that the writ be declared maintainable.
After hearing arguments, the court issued a written order stating that for a writ petition to be maintainable, the petitioner must be an aggrieved person.The court noted that although the petitioner sought security measures for religious scholars and compensation packages for the families of deceased clerics, no religious scholar had approached the court claiming a lack of security, nor had any legal heir of a slain scholar sought relief regarding non-payment of a compensation package.
According to the judgment, the petitioner failed to establish that he was personally affected by the matter. The court held that the objections raised by the Registrar’s Office were valid and observed that under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, a person approaching the high court must ordinarily be an aggrieved party.
The court further noted that while counsel had argued for stronger security arrangements for religious scholars through a dedicated protection mechanism, the Registrar’s objections were legally sound. Consequently, the court ordered that the petition be returned in its original form.
