PHC suspends petitions after FCC order

FCC halted high court Article 199 hearings

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has suspended the hearing of all writ petitions filed under Article 199 of the Constitution on or after October 12, 2026, following an order by the Federal Constitutional Court. The high court has also directed that no new such petitions be entertained and that any fresh applications be returned with instructions to approach the appropriate forum.

The administrative committee of the PHC issued immediate implementation instructions on the Federal Constitutional Court's November 5 decision. The committee comprises Chief Justice of the PHC Justice SM Atiq Shah, Justice Ijaz Anwar, Justice Syed Arshad Ali, Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Naeem Anwar.

According to the directive sent to the Additional Registrar (Judicial), writ petitions filed on or after October 12 will not be fixed for hearing. New petitions will neither be received nor entertained and will be returned with advice to approach the relevant forum.

The Federal Constitutional Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Aamir Farooq, had issued the orders a day earlier while hearing appeals filed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government against interim orders of the PHC. Those interim orders had restrained arrests of political workers under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance and directed the release of detained activists.

In its written judgment, the Federal Constitutional Court held that since the armed forces have been called in aid of the civil administration in K-P under Article 245 of the Constitution, proceedings on petitions filed under Article 199 on or after October 12 stand suspended by virtue of Article 245(4).

The court directed the Advocate General of K-P to submit a detailed report within seven days identifying areas where the continued presence of the armed forces in aid of the civil administration is no longer required. It clarified that after examining the report, the suspension order could be reviewed.