Peshawar, Oct 14 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday challenged the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Peshawar High Court, seeking restoration of the party-led provincial government.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday proclaimed an emergency under Article 232 and imposed governor’s rule under Article 234 of the Constitution, with the federal government accusing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial administration of failing to effectively tackle rising militancy.
The petition, filed under Article 199 of the Constitution, challenged the federal government’s October 11 proclamation as well as the deployment of Pakistan Army troops, formation of an 11-member technocratic advisory council and removal of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
The PTI chairman also sought the immediate restoration of Afridi and his cabinet with full executive powers and asked the court to set aside all actions taken under the emergency, including the establishment of an Area Development Secretariat in 12 districts.
The petition argued that the emergency proclamation violated Article 232(1) of the Constitution as no prior resolution seeking such a measure had been passed by the provincial assembly.
“No such resolution was ever moved, debated, or passed by the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” it said, arguing that transferring the provincial assembly’s legislative powers to Parliament without fulfilling the constitutional requirement infringed upon provincial autonomy.
The petition also challenged the deployment of army troops under Article 245, contending that it could not override the civilian administration or be invoked without a lawful request from the provincial government.
It also sought the release of Afridi and other PTI leaders, alleging that their detention was unlawful.
Gohar Ali Khan further sought the complete record used to justify the emergency, including the governor’s report and the summary submitted to the federal cabinet.
He also challenged the advisory council headed by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and the Area Development Secretariat, alleging they created parallel administrative structures.
(PTI News)
