A lawyer walks past in front of the Peshawar High Court building. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR:
A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the ongoing blockade of the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway and Grand Trunk (GT) Road by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, describing the action as unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.
Advocate Tariq Afghan, through Barrister Huzaifa Ahmed, filed the petition naming the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Inspector General of Police, PTI Provincial President Junaid Akbar Khan and the National Highways Authority as respondents.
The petitioner, a practicing lawyer, stated that he frequently travels to various courts across the province to pursue legal cases. He argued that hundreds of PTI activists have blocked important highways for several days, cutting inter-provincial connectivity and causing severe disruption to public movement.
According to the petition, protesters have established sit-ins at the Swabis Ambar interchange on the highway and near the Attock bridge on the GT road, completely halting traffic in both directions. This has led to acute hardship for ordinary citizens, including restricted travel, delays in essential supplies such as flour from Punjab and other provinces, and disruption of inter-provincial trade.
The petition invokes Article 15 of the constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to free movement throughout Pakistan. While acknowledging that peaceful protest is a constitutional right, the petitioner emphasized that no demonstration may violate the rights of others or involve coercion. Preventing citizens from traveling against their will is a serious offence, the suit claims.
It further alleges that the local administration, National Highways officials and other authorities have remained passive spectators and failed to intervene despite the widespread public suffering. The petition highlights a tragic incident in which a patient reportedly died in an ambulance due to delays caused by the blockade the previous day, underscoring the human cost of the protests.
The petitioner criticized the irony of the situation, noting that the people of KP have repeatedly elected PTI to power with a majority, yet they now bear the brunt of the party’s agitation tactics, while the government and administration seem unwilling to act.
The court has been urged to declare the road closures illegal, direct immediate action against those responsible and issue orders to all parties to reopen the expressway and GT road without delay. This would restore inter-provincial relations, ease public hardship and maintain constitutional protections.
