PHC sets aside leader’s expulsion from North Waziristan

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday set aside the order of the administration on the expulsion of a rights movement leader from North Waziristan.

A division bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Musarrat Hilali set aside the order of the administration with the observation that there was nothing on the record that showed he had delivered anti-state speeches.

During the hearing, Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah and representative of the administration produced a notification before the bench in which the administration stated that the ban was imposed on the movement’s leader due to his anti-state and public provoking speeches which were creating law and order situation there.

However, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth observed that he had submitted nomination papers and wanted to contest the election as he had the right to speech during the election campaign.

On June 7, the administration had banned him from entering North Waziristan for three months after accusing him of instigating people through provocative speeches.

The leader had challenged the ban through his lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi.

Latif Afridi argued that his client had submitted nomination papers for NA-48 and this expulsion order was tantamount to stopping him from fundamental right of participating in the political activities under the law.

Challenging the power of the political administration to issue such an order, the lawyer made it clear that assistant political agent cannot pass such an order after the 31st Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution under which Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been merged with KP and the political administration had no more such authority to utilise Section 5 of the MPO 1960 (West Pakistan Act) under which the expulsion order was issued against the leader.

In the petition, it was stated that the ban was based on malafide intention and was without lawful authority and against the fundamental rights of the petitioner to deprive him of his right to contest the general election.

The lawyer argued that his client was a prominent political worker of North Waziristan and now contesting the election on NA-48.

He had also seriously suffered during the militancy in the area. He said the expulsion order was against the fundamental rights of the petitioner, therefore, was liable to be struck down.

The administration of North Waziristan and government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through chief secretary were made respondents in the case.