PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has declined to consider a request from the provincial advocate general’s office to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9, 2023, violent protests in the province, insisting that the request in its current form violates rules.

The provincial cabinet had decided on June 27 to establish a judicial commission to look into the riots, which erupted in the province following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder Imran Khan in Islamabad.

In a letter written to the high court’s registrar on July 30, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel said that the objective of the judicial commission approved by the cabinet was to “inquire into the facts surrounding the May 9, 2023, [violence], which is a public importance issue.”

“As the jurisdiction of the inquiry officer is about any matter dealt in sections 178 and 170 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the commission, according to the law, has got every jurisdiction to conduct inquiry under those laws,” it said.

AG says cabinet to discuss matter in next meeting

The court’s registrar responded to the letter on Friday, saying the request can’t be taken up in its current form.

“Such request can’t be considered in its present form as being in violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rules of Business, 1985,” he said in the formal response.

When contacted, provincial government spokesman Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said the court had not directly replied to the government as its letter was received by the AG’s office, which would send its copy to the law department.

“After receiving that copy of the letter, we will be in a position to offer comments,” he said.

However, Mr Utmankhel told Dawn that no violation of the Rules of Business, 1985, was highlighted during meetings between the representatives of his office and the high court.

“We [AG’s office and the court] held consultations about the proposed commission but no one pointed out any breach of rules about our request,” he said.

The AG also said the court didn’t contact his office before issuing its reply to the July 30 letter.

He disclosed that the matter would be discussed in the next cabinet meeting to determine the future course of action.

On July 28, the provincial government initiated the process of formally requesting the high court’s chief justice to depute a judge to conduct a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots.

The development came after the provincial assembly passed a resolution on May 10 2024, demanding an “independent” judicial inquiry into the May 9 violent protests as well as the release of their CCTV footage.

“This assembly recommends that the provincial government ask the federal government to immediately withdraw all fake cases against Qaidi Number 804 [prisoner No 804] Imran Khan and [his wife] Bushra Bibi, and release all May 9 prisoners so that the agitation in the public ends.

“May 9 incidents should be probed by an independent judicial commission, and their CCTV footage should be made public,” said the resolution that the House adopted by a majority vote.

Around 274 people were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies across the province in connection with the May 9 violence, which left at least seven people dead and more than 122 injured.

The day witnessed violent scenes across the province, like other parts of the country, with mobs torching the building that housed the offices of Radio Pakistan and APP news agency to protest the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024