PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court reserved verdict on PTI petition to declare Governor Rule null and void.
The hearing on petitions filed against the imposition of Governor Rule and Emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has started in the Peshawar High Court.
A bench comprising Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Fahim Wali is hearing the petitions, during which lawyers for the petitioners termed the imposition of Governor Rule and Emergency as unconstitutional and requested restoration of the provincial government and assembly, and the recovery of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer argued that under the Constitution, imposition of Emergency requires extraordinary situations like war or external aggression, but there was no such situation in the province that was beyond the control of the provincial government.
He said that in the past, Emergency was not imposed even when terrorism was at its peak. Arguing, the petitioner’s counsel said that under Article 234 of the Constitution, it is mandatory to fulfill necessary constitutional and legal requirements for imposition of Governor Rule, but in the present case these requirements were ignored.
The assembly and provincial government were functioning normally, and there was no situation of complete breakdown of constitutional machinery, so how can imposition of Governor Rule be justified?
He further said that it has been settled in Supreme Court judgments that the President can decide to impose Governor Rule only after examining solid evidence and ground realities on the recommendation of the Governor.
Barrister Sameer Khosa, on behalf of Barrister Gohar, argued that the Supreme Court had laid down a principle in the Pir Sabir Shah case that despite imposition of Emergency, the Chief Minister and provincial cabinet can continue to work.
He said that in the present case, the Chief Minister, cabinet and Advocate General have been stopped from working, which is against constitutional principles. He requested the court to declare the imposition of Emergency as void and restore the provincial assembly and government, and reinstate the Chief Minister and Speaker.
Salman Akram Raja also argued in the court that Governor Rule and Emergency were imposed without fulfilling necessary legal requirements. He said this step is unconstitutional and against democracy, and removing the Speaker and Chief Minister in this manner is not correct. He requested the court for restoration of the provincial government and recovery of both leaders.
During the hearing, petitioner Qaiser Advocate told the court that in his petition, not the Emergency but the Governor’s Rule has been challenged. He said that in view of poor law and order in 12 districts of the province, imposition of Emergency is justified, because the situation there was beyond the control of the provincial government.
He said security forces are conducting operations against terrorists and during this, personnel are also being martyred. According to him, attacks are carried out on security forces in those districts; however, in other districts of the province, including Peshawar, Nowshera and Mardan, the situation is relatively better and law enforcement agencies are doing their work.
On this occasion, Justice Ejaz Anwar remarked that Emergency has been imposed anyway, so the petitioner should talk about the measure which he has challenged. Qaiser Advocate further argued that imposition of Governor Rule is not correct and there are court decisions in this regard.
He also termed approval of resolution from Parliament under Article 234 as necessary for imposition of Governor Rule. Lawyers for the petitioners requested the court to examine the constitutional and legal status of imposition of Governor Rule and Emergency and declare the relevant measures as void, restore the provincial government and assembly, and issue orders for recovery of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.
It is clear that during the hearing, constitutional and legal points were argued by the lawyers of the parties. After the final decision of the court on the petitions, the legal status of the matter will become clear.
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