Hearing in ex-CM Mahmood Khan’s petition adjourned

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on a petition seeking the cancellation of a first information report registered by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) against former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians Mahmood Khan until June 18.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel while hearing the petition also barred the ACE from arresting him until then.

Mahmood Khan’s lawyer Sultan Muhammad Khan informed the court that his client was a former chief minister and that the ACE had initiated proceedings against him based on a 2018 case. However, no information was provided to them, prompting them to approach the high court, which granted interim relief. Later, they discovered that an official FIR had been registered, which, the lawyer argued, was a result of political victimization.

The lawyer said that it is unfortunate that in this country, cases are registered against individuals who left the government. Since the petitioner was previously affiliated with PTI and later formed another party, he is now being targeted for political revenge. The provincial government, he claimed, was now registering cases against the petitioner and other leaders of his party.

He pleaded that when they challenged the inquiry, they were denied access to the FIR and were not informed of the charges against them. Later, when comments were sought in response to the writ petition, the authorities claimed that an FIR had already been registered. The lawyer mentioned that another petitioner in the same case, Tariq Mehmood, had already filed a writ for cancellation of the FIR and obtained a stay order.

He also informed the court that on September 3, 2024, Mahmood Khan received a notice from the ACE instructing him to appear in Inquiry No. 45. He complied and responded to the required questions. However, despite this, the department continues to harass him through various means.

He argued that the FIR pertains to his client’s ministerial tenure, which ended ten years ago, and that these tactics are being used solely to harass him.The petitioner, being a respectable citizen and politician, has already participated in the process, and therefore, the department should be restrained from further harassment. He also informed the court that they had earlier filed a petition to cancel the inquiry, but now the provincial government has registered an FIR without providing them any details.

The additional advocate general informed the court that the petitioner has yet to join the investigation and that another petitioner involved in the same case has also filed a petition for cancellation of the FIR. The court ordered the consolidation of this writ with other related petitions and barred the ACE from arresting the former chief minister until June 18.