- Petitioners argue emergency could be imposed in event of war.
- Counsel says provincial govt has authority to tackle terrorism.
- Petitioners say there had been no breakdown of Constitution.
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday began hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petitions challenging the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)
A two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Faheem Wali is presiding over the hearing.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government imposed a governor’s role and emergency in KP, ruled by the Imran Khan-founded party since 2013, on October 11.
The federal government cited rising terrorism incidents and the provincial government’s lack of support for counterterrorism operations as the reasons for the move.
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi took charge of running the province on behalf of the federal government, assisted by an 11-member technocratic KP Advisory Council.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan and Advocate Salman Khan later filed separate petitions against the measures at the PHC, asking the court to declare the measures unconstitutional and set them aside.
During today’s proceedings, the petitioners’ counsel argued that an emergency could be imposed in the event of war or external interference.
“There is neither war nor external aggression here,” the lawyer told the court.
The counsel argued that the provincial government had the authority to take measures to tackle terrorism, saying terrorism had reached its peak in the past, but an emergency was not imposed then.
The lawyer further contended that Article 234 of the Constitution could be invoked only when a provincial government ceased to function.
The counsel maintained that the provincial assembly and government had continued functioning and that there had been no breakdown of the Constitution.
