• KP govt says chief justice requested to depute judge for the purpose
• Punjab info minister says all characters in ‘rebellion’ already stand exposed

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunk­hwa government has initiated the process of making a written request to the chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC) to depute a judge for conducting a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots.

Talking to Dawn, KP government’s spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the process to conduct a judicial process into the May 9 violence has begun, adding that the letter for deputing a judge for the purpose is being prepared at the advocate general’s office.

“The process has started since the provincial cabinet, in its meeting last month, had endorsed a resolution of the provincial assembly adopted in May for a judicial inquiry,” he said.

The letter would be sent to the registrar’s office from where it would be forwarded to the chief justice, he added.

On May 10, a year after the May 9 riots, the KP Assembly passed a resolution, demanding an “independent” judicial inquiry into the riots and the release of their CCTV footage.

The KP cabinet on June 27 approved the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the riots and backed the provincial assembly’s resolution that also called for the release of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan as well as other political prisoners.

“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,” read the resolution, which was adopted by majority.

Mr Saif said that since the advo­cate general’s office was an interface between the provincial government and the court, that’s why the former had initiated the process. He said the judicial commission would be probing all the FIRs, including those registered following attacks on the offices of Radio Pakistan in Peshawar, some places in Mardan and other parts of the province.

In reply to a question, the spokesperson said that Terms of Reference would be mentioned in the notification of the judicial commission and all the modalities would be worked upon.

May 9, 2023 witnessed violent scenes in KP [and other parts of the country] with angry people torching the building that housed the offices of Radio Pakistan and APP news agency in protest against the arrest of Imran Khan.

In Peshawar, pitched battles broke out between the police and protesters who were trying to force their way to Khyber Road where key installations were located. The violence in the province left at least seven people dead and more than 122 others injured.

Police took into custody 274 persons across the province in connection with the violent protests.

PML-N mocks move

Taking a swipe at the KP government’s move, Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari said that no one could become revolutionary leaders like Che Guevara or Nelson Mandela by using the judicial shoulders, adds APP.

In a statement, she said the KP government’s proposed letter to the Peshawar High Court to form a judicial commission on May 9 incidents was a failed attempt to hide under the judicial hammer.

She said judicial commissions were always formed on hidden and unexplained matters. There were videos, photos and audio clips of the May 9 violence, she said, adding that the incident was a conspiracy against the country. The information minister said the truth had become crystal clear as all characters of the “rebellion” including its facilitators and masterminds had been exposed now.

With additional input from APP

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2024