The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has granted interim relief to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists in around 35 petitions challenging their detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Inamullah Khan issued the interim relief in petitions filed by Akbar Shah and several other detainees, most of whom are being held at Mardan Central Prison.
The court scheduled the next hearing for November 12 and directed the petitioners to submit surety bonds to the satisfaction of the respective deputy commissioners.
The petitions challenge detention orders, largely issued by the provincial Home Department under Section 3 of the West Pakistan MPO Ordinance, 1960, describing them as unlawful.
The bench clarified that its decision was purely interim in nature and should not be considered a final opinion on the legality of the detention orders or the petitioners’ entitlement to permanent relief. It further stated that all legal questions, including the maintainability of the petitions, would remain open for consideration at the appropriate stage.
The court also directed the concerned deputy commissioners to submit reports, as previously instructed, explaining the circumstances and reasons behind the detention of the petitioners.
Expressing concern over the non-submission of the reports despite earlier court directions, the bench said it had reviewed the available material to assess whether the detainees qualified for interim relief. However, it emphasised that no final determination had been made regarding their claims.
The petitioners’ lawyers, including Muhammad Yasir Khattak, Azhar Rahim, Zahir Muhammad, Nasir Khan Safi, Nadeem Shah and Ashfaq Daudzai, argued that the detention orders were identical and lacked specific grounds, references to particular incidents or details of individual actions to support the allegations and apprehensions cited by the authorities.
The bench also referred to three earlier petitions in which other detainees had received similar interim relief after furnishing surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.
It observed that the previous orders were relevant judicial considerations while deciding the current petitions.
