TTAP wants judicial review of emergency

Says supremacy of Constitution, provincial autonomy must be safeguarded

ISLAMABAD:

An opposition parties' alliance, the TTAP, has called for a transparent judicial review of the constitutional grounds for imposing governor's rule and an emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), warning that such governance systems undermine provincial autonomy, public mandate and democracy.

TTAP chief and National Assembly Leader of the Opposition Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Senate Leader of the Opposition Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI leader Asad Qaiser said this in a joint declaration issued on Monday after a consultation on the country's prevailing "political and constitutional" situation.

On November 7, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) removed all petitions challenging the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in K-P, as well as 3-MPO detentions, from its cause list following a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruling that stripped it of jurisdiction over cases filed after October 11.

Earlier on November 5, the FCC barred the PHC from hearing 3-MPO detention cases.

On October 11, the federal government imposed emergency and governor's rule in the province amid a PTI long march and detained a number of PTI leaders and workers including K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi under 3-MPO.

Before that, the PHC granted bail to 23 PTI workers arrested under the ordinance and sought responses from the governor and provincial assembly speaker over the imposition of governor's rule.

The opposition alliance maintained that such governance styles must be transparently examined by the judiciary to determine their constitutional validity, stressing that the supremacy of the Constitution, provincial autonomy and parliamentary democracy must be safeguarded.

The declaration also paid tribute to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for his stance on constitutional matters, saying that targeting the dignity and honour of political leaders or their families over political differences was contrary to democratic traditions.

The TTAP demanded that complete medical examination reports of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi be made public without delay. It also called for immediate implementation of the Supreme Court's August 18 decision to transfer Imran to Shifa International Hospital.

"Imran Khan's treatment should be ensured in the presence of his personal physicians," the joint declaration emphasised further.

The TTAP on Monday also condemned the alleged use of force by the state against unarmed civilians in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), describing the reported loss of life and suppression of public demands as unacceptable. The opposition parties' alliance also called for immediate negotiations with protesters to quell the unrest and end the violence.