K-P Lawyers Strike Over Suspension of High Court Powers
The K-P lawyers strike brought court work to a halt across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday, as lawyers protested against the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend the powers of the Peshawar High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution. Bar leaders have warned of an indefinite strike if the powers are not restored by 16 November.
The protest adds to the crisis in the province, where an emergency and governor’s rule are already in force.
K-P lawyers strike follows court order
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council called the strike at an emergency general body meeting on 7 November, chaired by its vice-chairman, Mohammad Rafiq. The meeting also included Sardar Waqarul Mulk, chairman of the council’s executive committee, and other members.
The council said the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision had usurped the basic rights of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and was a great injustice. It also opposed the governor’s rule and the emergency.
A separate meeting of bar representatives was held on the premises of the Peshawar High Court under the chairmanship of Peshawar High Court Bar Association president Aminur Rahman Yousafzai. Bar leaders from Peshawar and its circuit benches in Bannu, Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan attended, along with Pakistan Bar Council member Naveed Akhtar.
What Article 199 powers mean
Article 199 of the Constitution gives a high court the power to issue writs, including orders for the production of a person in custody and for the enforcement of fundamental rights. It is the main route through which citizens challenge unlawful detention and official action.
Last Thursday, a two-member bench of the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that proceedings before the Peshawar High Court under Article 199, filed on or after 12 October, would remain suspended under Clause 4 of Article 245, since the armed forces had been called to act in aid of civil power under an order of 11 October.
The high court’s administrative committee then decided not to proceed with such petitions filed on or after 12 October, and to return fresh petitions to petitioners.
The decision has hit several high-profile cases filed under Article 199. These include petitions against the emergency and governor’s rule, and petitions about the alleged illegal detention of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and other PTI leaders.
Access to the courts is also the issue in Uzma Khan’s plea for an early hearing of her contempt petition over Imran Khan’s hospital treatment, which remains pending before the Supreme Court.
Bar council moves the constitutional court
The council has applied to become a party in the cases under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and has asked the court to restore the Peshawar High Court’s constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199. The council passed a resolution in its general body meeting to file the application.
The meeting further decided that the Peshawar High Court bar associations would become party to the matter pending before the Federal Constitutional Court. It also decided to convene an All Pakistan Lawyers Convention under the supervision of all the bar councils in the country.
The meeting decided that Peshawar High Court Bar Association president Aminur Rahman would contact all stakeholders and ask them to play their role in restoring the high court’s powers before 16 November. The meeting also decided that the struggle of the lawyers’ bodies would continue until the powers were restored, and demanded that the matter pending before the Federal Constitutional Court be taken up for hearing on Wednesday.
A province already in legal turmoil
The strike comes at a tense moment for the province, where the emergency is already the central point of dispute between the government and its critics. The opposition alliance has already gone to court over the emergency.
JUI-F has announced protests across the province on 15 November, adding street pressure to the legal challenge. The party is demanding that agreements with foreign countries on the province’s mineral resources be made public.
Meanwhile, a joint session of parliament has endorsed the governor’s rule in the province. The courts are now at the centre of almost every major dispute in the province.
The strike affects ordinary litigants first. With the high court’s writ jurisdiction suspended and lawyers boycotting courts, citizens with urgent cases have few places left to turn. That is why the 16 November deadline matters.
What happens next
The bar council wants the court to hear the matter on Wednesday, when the first question will be whether the suspension can stand while the emergency continues.
If the powers are not restored by 16 November, bar leaders have threatened an indefinite strike. That would deepen the disruption in the province’s courts and add to the pressure on the federal government.
Frequently asked questions
Why did lawyers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa go on strike?
Lawyers observed a strike across the province on the call of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, against the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend the powers of the Peshawar High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution.
What does Article 199 of the Constitution cover?
Article 199 gives a high court the power to issue writs, including orders for the production of a person in custody and for the enforcement of fundamental rights. It is the main route for citizens to challenge unlawful detention and official action.
What happens if the high court’s powers are not restored by 16 November?
The lawyers have threatened an indefinite strike if the Peshawar High Court’s powers under Article 199 are not restored by 16 November.
Which cases have been affected by the suspension?
The suspension has affected petitions against the emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and petitions about the alleged illegal detention of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, Junaid Akbar and other PTI leaders.
What has the bar council asked the Federal Constitutional Court to do?
The council has applied to become a party in the cases under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and has asked the court to restore the Peshawar High Court’s constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199.
