PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday granted interim relief to the Peshawar Money Changers Association by directing the district administration to de-seal over 300 currency exchange shops shut by the law-enforcement agencies and administration at Chowk Yadgar of the capital city few days ago.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan and Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani also directed the respondents including federal secretaries of interior and finance, Federal Investigation Agency director general, Peshawar deputy commissioner and provincial police officer to file separate replies to a petition filed by the association through its general secretary, Shakeel Ahmad.

Senior advocate Abdul Sattar Khan appeared for the petitioner and contended that in the Chowk Yadgar market, the currency dealers had been dealing with Afghan currency since 1947.

He contended that the State Bank of Pakistan had also permitted these dealers to deal in Afghan currency.

Interim relief granted on Money Changers Association’s petition

The lawyer said on Jan 13, the Peshawar deputy commissioner along with officials of FIA and local police raided the market and sealed over 300 shops.

He added that the said act of the respondents was in violation of Article 18 of the Constitution, which guaranteed freedom of profession.

The lawyer said in the past when the emergency rule was imposed in the country in 1999, the shops in question were also sealed, but later they were de-sealed by the district administration.

He added that the act of respondents was illegal and unconstitutional.

When the bench inquired as to who had issued the order of sealing these shops, the representatives of different institutions including FIA, police and district administration, were clueless and sought time for production of the written order in that regard.

The bench observed that it was astonishing that over 300 shops were sealed and nobody knew who had issued the order.

MPO ORDERS SET ASIDE: The bench set aside the orders issued by the Nowshera deputy commissioner under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) for detaining three people including a local journalist and warned that if in future, the ordinance was misused, it would take action against the official(s) responsible.

The bench made observations during hearing into three writ petitions filed by local journalist Farhat Shah, and two inhabitants of Nowshera, Multan Khan and Aman Khan, against whom the deputy commissioner had issued detention order for a period of one month each. While the journalist, working with a private television channel, was arrested and sent to Haripur Central prison, the two other petitioners have so far not been arrested.

The bench ordered to free Farhat Shah. It also directed the administration not to arrest the other two petitioners.

Advocate Shahid Riaz Barki appeared for Farhat Shah and contended that his arrest was blatant misuse of the MPO. He stated that the DC had based his order on flimsy grounds and had stated that he was a threat to public order.

Advocate Nosheen Ahmad appeared for other two petitioners and stated that the administration had issued orders under the MPO without any valid grounds.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed that no one would be allowed to violate the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2016