Prosecutors oppose petitions saying protective bail is granted
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday reserved its verdict on a series of petitions filed by prominent PTI figures – including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, MNA Asad Qaiser and former CM Ali Amin Gandapur – seeking anti-bail protection and details of cases registered against them.
The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali.
The petitioners’ lawyers began by stressing that their clients approached the court for information about the cases filed against them. Advocate Babar Asif clearly stated, “cases have been registered against the petitioners, details should be given.”
The Attorney General Islamabad raised concerns before the bench, claiming that some of the petitioners “have filed applications for protective bail several times” and that this continuous grant of bail was “affecting the investigation.”
Read: PHC grants bail to KP CM Sohail Afridi
He urged the court to decide all these related cases in a single forum. Justice Ali responded to this by asking, “how can we do this? You have given details.” The Attorney General further pointed out the scale of the issue, stating that some people “have been on bail for a year.”
Highlighting the practical difficulties they faced in complying with investigation orders, the CM’s counsel, Advocate Bashir Wazir, told the court, “they tell us how many FIRs there are. When we go there, they say this file is sealed, we cannot give it to you.” He maintained that the defense appears in the courts for any case whose details are given.
Justice Ali asked the Attorney General how many FIRs the petitioners are nominated in. To this he replied, “we do not have the complete data of the FIRs.”
Barrister Waqar, representing Asad Qaiser, similarly assured the court that “tell us there are no more FIRs against us. We will leave here and join the investigation, whatever the cases are.”
Clarifying the court’s jurisdiction, Justice Ali stated, “to the extent of Islamabad we are giving details, but for provincial details you will have to go there.” He added, “we will grant you bail. Whatever cases are in the province, you go to the courts there.”
Read more: PHC prevents arrest of CM Afridi till December 9
He also questioned the position of the prosecution, asking the Attorney General: “You say, has any court issued their arrest warrant?”
Further, the Public Prosecutor requested that a larger bench be formed for this and to decide these cases citing the complexity and implications.
Additional Attorney General Sanaullah informed the court, “we have such information that the petitioners are taking bail from here and then not participating in the investigation.” However, Advocate General Shah Faisal disagreed and stated, “in my opinion there is no need for a bigger bench at all. These are ordinary applications.”
After the completion of arguments from all parties, the court continued to reserve its decision.
