PHC extends stay on arrest of PTI leaders

PESHAWAR: The special bench of Peshawar High Court on Thursday extended the stay and directed the police not to arrest former lawmakers and a mayor of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by December 19, the date of next hearing in the petitions.

The special bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim took up the petitions filed by former speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, ex-MNAs Junaid Akbar, Saleemur Rehman and Sahibzada Sibghatullah, former MPAs Mian Sharafat, Taj Mohammad Tarand and Fazal Hakeem, and mayor of Swat’s Babuzai tehsil counsel Shahid Ali Khan.

The petitioners themselves appeared and requested the court to adjourn the hearing as the lawyers were on strike to protest the Indian court’s judgment on the status of occupied Kashmir.

They said that the lawyers’ fraternity was observing boycott from the court proceedings to protest the Indian Supreme Court verdict, which was recently delivered in favour of the Indian government annulling the special status of Occupied Kashmir.

The bench adjourned the hearing until December 19 and also stayed the arrest of PTI leaders and lawmakers in all the cases registered against them.

It may be mentioned that Advocate Shabbir Hussain Gigyani and Barrister Amir Khan Chamkani had been appointed during the previous hearing on December 7 by the bench for assisting the court on some legal points attached to the issue of re-arresting of the PTI leaders after getting bail in different cases.

The bench had raised a legal point whether an accused charged in multiple cases was arrested then his arrest would be in a particular case or in all the cases.

The bench also questioned whether an accused in multiple cases could be re-arrested multiple times one after another.

Meanwhile, a division bench of PHC consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice SM Attiq Shah directed the provincial government to provide details of the cases of former minister Kamran Bangash and not to arrest him till further orders.

Ali Zaman advocate appeared for the petitioner while Additional Advocate General Danyal Asad Chamkani represented the provincial government.

The bench was told the petitioner had obtained bails in several cases but he was still being harassed, therefore, the details of cases against him should be provided to adopt a legal course for his bail.