PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim on Monday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to legislate within a fortnight to stop the re-arrest of the accused in cases following the grant of bail.

He issued directions during the hearing into a petition by Ajmeer Gul, father of a resident who was named in a case of violence, who had gone missing after being re-arrested by the counter-terrorism department from outside the Peshawar Central Prison soon after his release.

At the outset of the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer, Mohammad Siraj, informed the bench that his client’s son was freed from the Peshawar prison after a court granted him bail.

He, however, said when the bailed suspect stepped out of the jail, he was re-arrested by the CTD personnel.

CM tells court a panel looking into such incidents

He said that a video showed the police personnel take the man away from outside the prison.

The chief justice asked additional advocate general Inam Yousafzai whether the police had filed a report in the case in the presence of the video evidence of the arrest.

Mr Yousafzai replied that the police had been informed about it.

The chief justice observed that arresting an accused after the grant of bail was a violation of the court’s judgement.

He also directed the AAG to ensure the presence of the chief minister in the court.

The chief justice said that the court had ruled on a petition filed by former National Assembly speaker and PTI leader Asad Qaiser that if an accused was granted bail by a court, he or she couldn’t be rearrested in another case.

He told the AAG to ask the chief minister to appear before the bench.

Advocate general Shah Faisal Utmankhel informed the court that the chief minister was busy with an official meeting on the law and order situation.

The chief justice asked him to speak to the chief minister for appearing before the court, declaring that he was going to issue an order during the hearing.

He added that it was not the only case of its kind; rather, many such cases were pending with the court.

When the court resumed the hearing after a while, the chief minister along with additional chief secretary (home and tribal affairs) Mohammad Abid Majeed and advocate general Shah Faisal Utmankhel appeared before it.

The chief justice told Mr Gandapur that the accused were re-arrested after being granted bail by courts.

He added that those re-arrests had been reported so many times that the families of those “missing persons” had been approaching the court against the practice in large numbers.

Justice Ibrahim observed that the court had declared in the Asad Qaiser case that the accused couldn’t be picked up again after being granted bail.

The video of the CTD personnel arresting the accused in question was also shown to the chief minister, who insisted he was opposed to the re-arresting of the accused.

He said that he himself and his party had been at the receiving end of that practice.

“We’ve constituted a committee to look into such incidents,” he said, adding that the government was working to amend the KP Police Act, 2017.

The chief justice said that those who wanted to cancel the bail or arrest an accused should approach the relevant courts to plead their case.

He added that the people couldn’t be taken away like that.

Mr Utmankhel informed the bench that the government was working to amend the provisions related to the public safety commissions.

The bench directed the advocate general to present its report within two weeks and adjourned the hearing until October 21.

Mr Gandapur later told reporters outside the high court that if Punjab police again tortured PTI workers, they would be picked up from the province and brought to KP for action.

He said the KP police were misused by the caretakers, who pressured them into doing things the department didn’t want to engage in.

“We will make necessary amendments to the law. The draft amendments will be finalised in the next few days,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2024