Sitting CM’s detention ‘unjustified’, say legal experts; courts urged to intervene
Legal experts on Thursday questioned the Sohail Afridi arrest, saying the placement of the sitting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister in protective custody raises serious questions about democratic norms and constitutional authority, and calling on the courts to examine the move’s legality.
Former justice Wajihuddin Ahmed said the courts had the power to take cognisance of the detention of K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, while senior journalist Mazhar Abbas questioned the justification for targeting the PTI-led provincial government in the name of counterterrorism.
Sohail Afridi arrest: the constitutional question
Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed said the constitutional court had the power to take cognisance of the chief minister’s protective custody. Asked whether the law provided for suo motu action, he said the court still had considerable powers at its disposal and should exercise them to safeguard the spirit of the Constitution.
He said there was no provision in law allowing the arrest of a chief minister, in any form, in such circumstances. Placing both a speaker and a chief minister in custody was unimaginable under any democratic dispensation, he said, adding that the imposition of the emergency itself should be questioned by the courts.
Questions have also been raised over the constitutional basis of the move, the status of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and its implications for the upcoming Senate elections.
‘Terrorism used as a pretext’
Mazhar Abbas said the issue was not the rise in terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which he noted had remained a longstanding problem across the country since the September 11 attacks and the ensuing war on terror, but the politicisation of terrorism against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He alleged the security situation was being used as a pretext to target the party.
Abbas said all major political parties were signatories to the National Action Plan, but none had implemented it in letter and spirit while in power. He questioned why only the PTI-led government in K-P was being targeted, arguing that in reality the entire provincial government and assembly had been held in abeyance along with the chief minister, who continued to hold the office in name only.
However, Abbas disagreed with Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed’s view that the courts could take up the matter, saying no court would examine it because the judiciary had been brought within the ambit of the government’s authority. He argued that terrorism was not the actual reason for the measures and that, under such regimes, reasons were used merely to satisfy paperwork. Even when terrorism was cited as the justification on paper, he said, history had shown such measures had never produced positive results.
Where the standoff goes from here
The detention sits at the centre of the week’s spiralling confrontation. The opposition alliance TTAP has suspended all talks with the government and made Afridi’s release one of its core demands, alongside access for Imran Khan’s family and doctors. The government, for its part, has defended the K-P emergency and governor’s rule on security grounds, citing the province’s worsening law and order.
Whether the courts take up the question of a detained sitting chief minister, as the former judge urges, or stay out of it, as Abbas predicts, will shape what happens next in a province where the elected government now governs in name only.
*Source: The Express Tribune*
FAQs
Why is Sohail Afridi’s arrest controversial?
Experts say there is no legal provision for placing a sitting chief minister in protective custody, and that it effectively holds the entire K-P government and assembly in abeyance.
Can courts examine the detention?
Former justice Wajihuddin Ahmed says the constitutional court has the power to take cognisance of the matter, though journalist Mazhar Abbas doubts any court will intervene.
What does TTAP demand regarding Afridi?
The opposition alliance has demanded the immediate release of the K-P chief minister, the provincial assembly speaker and other detained leaders as a condition for resuming talks.
