Salman Yousafzai
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former ministers Senator Azam Swati and Murad Saeed have filed an application in court, seeking to obtain details of cases and prevent their arrest.
The writ petition was submitted to the Peshawar High Court through the mediation of Qazi Anwar Advocate, Shah Faisal Utmankhel, and Qaiser Ali Shah Advocate. The former ministers are ready to surrender themselves to avoid arrest.
In the petition, the PTI leaders argue that the police have been conducting raids on their residences without providing any reason. Despite their requests, the police and other parties have failed to provide details of the cases against them.
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The plea asserts that the failure to provide case details is unlawful, and it demands that the court be provided with information about the number of cases registered against the petitioners. Furthermore, the petition seeks an injunction to prevent the police from raiding their houses.
The federal and provincial governments, IG Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Secretary Home have been named as parties in the petition filed with the Peshawar High Court.
It is worth noting that following the violent protests on May 9 after the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case, other prominent leaders, including former Federal Minister Murad Saeed, are currently absconding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Raids are being conducted on their residences and other places.
According to the police, more than 2,500 individuals, including seven former members of the assembly, have been arrested so far in connection with the violent protests on May 9.
In a separate development, the Special Anti-Terrorism Court of Peshawar has ordered the release of 80 suspects who were arrested for their involvement in attacks on the Election Commission office and Radio Pakistan. The police stated that the accused had attacked the office of Radio Pakistan and the Election Commission within the jurisdiction of the Sharqi police station.
The bail of two Afghan nationals, who were arrested for vandalism and against whom two separate FIRs were registered, has been revoked. The police claimed that there was insufficient evidence against the released suspects, and they had not confessed to the crimes, leading the court to grant bail.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has approached the Supreme Court to investigate the incidents that occurred on May 9.
In the petition filed by Imran Khan’s lawyer, Hamid Khan Advocate, the court has been requested to form an inquiry commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the events of May 9. Imran Khan also urges the court to halt the “undeclared martial law” in two provinces of the country, including the federal capital Islamabad.
This petition has been filed in the Supreme Court at a time when several PTI leaders have announced their separation from the party. These leaders not only condemned the incidents on May 9 but also distanced themselves from Imran Khan. Prominent figures who have left PTI include Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hasan Chauhan, Aamir Kayani, Mehmood Maulvi, Chaudhry Wajahat, and others.
