The whereabouts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi have remained unknown since the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in the province on October 11. A federal minister confirmed a day after the measures were introduced that Afridi and some members of his cabinet had been placed in preventive custody.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also reported the detention and arrest of several other party members, including lawmakers and ministers, whose whereabouts have not been disclosed by the government.
Several petitions concerning the alleged detentions have been filed with the Peshawar High Court (PHC). A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed has scheduled the cases for hearing on November 3 and directed the respondents to submit their replies.
The petitions concern not only Afridi’s alleged detention but also the reported disappearance of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, MNAs Junaid Akbar and Dr Amjid Ali, provincial minister Amjid Ali Khan, MPAs Ikramullah and Aurangzeb Khan, former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Muhammad Khalid Khursheed and several other PTI leaders.
Afridi’s brother, Muhammad Aamir, has filed one of the petitions, alleging that the chief minister was abducted from the Chief Minister’s House on the night the emergency was imposed. He approached the high court last week, seeking legal intervention to establish his brother’s whereabouts.
Aamir requested the court to direct the KP inspector general of police, the Peshawar capital city police officer (CCPO) and other relevant authorities to take immediate and effective legal measures to trace and recover Afridi.
He also asked the court to order that, if Afridi was found to be in custody, he be presented before the bench so that the legality of his detention could be examined under Article 199(1)(b)(i) of the Constitution.
The constitutional provision empowers a high court to order the production of a person held within its jurisdiction to determine whether the detention is lawful or without proper legal authority.
The petitioner further sought a comprehensive report from the relevant authorities detailing Afridi’s whereabouts, current condition, legal status and the steps taken to locate him.
He also requested that the CCPO submit a detailed account of the alleged incident at the Chief Minister’s House on October 11, including the circumstances surrounding Afridi’s reported removal, the security arrangements in place, the individuals present and the immediate response by authorities.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Aamir’s counsel, Bashir Vazir, alleged that Afridi had been illegally detained at the Chief Minister’s House at around 2pm on October 11 and subsequently taken away by unidentified armed and masked individuals in the presence of the Peshawar CCPO.
The lawyer argued that the alleged detention and disappearance were unlawful and lacked legal authority, claiming that the respondents had not produced any order, warrant or other lawful document authorising Afridi’s arrest or removal.
A similar petition has been filed by Waqar Ahmad Khan, a cousin of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati. Representing the petitioner, Vazir asked the court to issue directions for the speaker’s recovery.
According to the petition, Swati was allegedly taken from the KP Assembly building at around 7pm on October 11 by unidentified armed and masked individuals in the presence of the CCPO.
The petitioner maintained that the sequence of events, the identities of those involved and the circumstances of Swati’s reported disappearance required immediate verification through official records, eyewitness accounts and other available evidence.
In both cases, the petitioners have requested the court to ensure the preservation and lawful examination of all relevant evidence, including CCTV footage, security logs, entry and exit registers, duty rosters, vehicle access records and other documents relating to the alleged incidents.
They have also sought the registration of first information reports (FIRs) and prompt, impartial investigations into the reported abductions, disappearances and detentions.
The petitioners argued that authorities must establish the whereabouts and present condition of the PTI leaders through lawful means. They also requested the court to order their release if they were found to be held unlawfully.
Separately, Nadir Shah, nephew of PTI MNA Junaid Akbar, and Hanif Ullah, brother of former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khursheed, have filed petitions seeking the recovery and production of the two politicians before the court.
In petitions containing similar allegations, they challenged the reported abductions of the two leaders on the night of October 11.
