PHC shields Afridi, bars his arrest

Court grants protective bail till No 18, orders full disclosure of cases against K-P CM

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday approved the protective bail plea of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and restrained law enforcement agencies from arresting or harassing him.

The court also directed the authorities to submit details of all criminal cases registered against the chief minister.

The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Naeem Anwar. Chief Minister Afridi was represented by his counsels Bashir Khan Wazir, Alam Khan Adinzai, and Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmanzai.

In the petition, Afridi's lawyers argued that he had been recently elected as chief minister with a decisive majority of provincial assembly members. They contended that Afridi had consistently criticised the policies of the federal and Punjab governments, which, according to him, undermined the interests of the people of K-P and eroded constitutional supremacy and the rule of law in the country.

The petition alleged that, in retaliation, the federal and Punjab governments had launched politically motivated cases and inquiries against Afridi and other leaders and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). His counsels maintained that Afridi was being subjected to political victimisation and that various agencies were under pressure to register false cases against him.

They further informed the court that Afridi was planning to visit Adiala Jail to meet the PTI founding chairman, but the defence team had yet to receive full information on how many cases had been registered against him and where. Fearing imminent arrest, they sought protective bail and a directive for authorities to disclose all pending cases.

The bench granted Afridi's plea, restraining institutions from arresting him until November 18 and ordering both the K-P Advocate General and Assistant Attorney General to provide complete case details by the next hearing.

Following the hearing, Afridi told reporters that he had not yet received a response to his request to meet the PTI founder in Adiala Jail. "It seems they will not allow the meeting," he remarked, adding that reports about cabinet formation were "baseless" and that no cabinet would be finalised until he met the party's founding chairman.