PHC seeks reply from govt for not allowing PTI convention

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, inspector general of police and Mansehra deputy commissioner to submit reply in a contempt petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not allowing its workers convention despite court orders.

The directives were issued by the PHC division bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Syed Muhammad Attiq Shah while hearing a petition filed by the PTI’s provincial president Ali Amin Gandapur to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the responsible officers for not allowing his party to hold public meetings and workers conventions.

The PTI counsels Shah Faisal Uthmankhel and Ali Zaman contended that a high court bench had allowed the party to carry out political activities in the province as per the permission and conditions of respective district administrations.

They said that the PTI had planned a workers convention in Mansehra but the deputy commissioner did not allow the party to hold the event without assigning any reason.

The counsels added that the DC banned the party from holding the convention, which was a contempt of court.

They said that there was neither a ban on the PTI nor there was not any notification to this effect that the party cannot organise a public meeting or workers convention.

They informed the court that the caretaker government was intentionally creating hurdles to the PTI in the election campaign, which was a violation of PHC directives.

Additional Advocate General Daniyal Asad Chamkani appeared in the court on behalf of the provincial government.

The court directed him to submit a reply in the contempt petition as to why the DC Mansehra did not allow PTI to hold workers’ convention. The hearing in the case will be held on November 21, 2023.

It may be mentioned that a high court bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmad had delivered the verdict in two petitions filed by the current petitioners and Insaf Lawyers Forum leader Ali Zaman, who had accused the government of stopping its leaders and workers from canvassing in the province, including the holding of rallies and gatherings, for the forthcoming general polls.

It had observed that it was expected that the district administration should perform their legal obligations strictly in accordance with the law, since they were bound by the Constitution of the country and the Elections Acts, 2017.

The bench had observed that a caretaker government was supposed to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold free and fair elections in the country.

The respondents in the petition are provincial chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, IGP Akhter Hayat Khan, Mansehra DC Bilal Ahmad Rao, Mansehra DPO Zahoor Babar Afridi, and five other police officials.