Court allows interim bail for 28 PTI detainees
The Peshawar High Court has given interim bail to 28 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers who were held under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law — a preventive detention statute — after emergency rule and a governor’s administration were put in place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Justices Syed Arshad Ali and Babar Sattar heard the petition. Among those named was Ahsan, along with 27 co-petitioners. The court told them to arrange two surety bonds of Rs100,000 apiece, acceptable to their local magistrates.
It also required a written promise that they would not take part in anti-state conduct or do anything that harms public safety or public order. The judges said the group had shown a sufficient initial case for temporary relief, noting that constitutional protections of life and liberty under Articles 4, 9, 10 and 15 of the 1973 Constitution were at stake.
What the lawyers argued
Azhar Rahim, Sajjad Ahmad, Saeed Usman and Mohammad Yasir Khattak represented the detainees. They said the executive detention notices, issued by the provincial home department under Section 3 of the West Pakistan MPO Ordinance, 1960, looked the same across the batch and did not spell out concrete grounds, incidents or acts to back the broad claims in them.
They pointed to an earlier PHC ruling in a matter involving Aftab Alam and another against the KP home secretary and others, and argued the notices fell short of Section 3’s legal tests and of Supreme Court guidance on preventive detention. They also noted that PHC sittings in Swat and Abbottabad had, on Oct 20 and Oct 21, already given comparable interim relief to people facing matching Section 3 orders, and asked for the same treatment.
Assistant Advocate General Waqar Khalil, appearing for the home department and the Mardan deputy commissioner, asked for more time and said full para-wise replies, with records, would be filed before the next date.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Oct 12, 2026: Home department detention notices under the MPO Ordinance were issued against the 28 petitioners.
- Oct 20: A PHC bench sitting in Swat granted interim relief in similar MPO detention matters.
- Oct 21: A PHC bench sitting in Abbottabad did likewise for people facing matching orders.
- Hearing now concluded: The Peshawar bench granted interim bail to the 28 and listed the case for Oct 27.
Wider petitions still before the court
Another group of 122 PTI workers from Swabi district has also challenged MPO detention at the high court. Members of the Insaf Lawyers Forum, the party’s legal wing, filed a joint petition calling the notices illegal and unconstitutional and seeking bail until a final decision. Multiple such cases have been brought for PTI workers held under the MPO Ordinance in different parts of the province.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar High Court ne 28 PTI kaarkunon ko interim bail de di hai jo MPO ke tehat qaid thay. Unhein do do one lakh rupay ke zamanaat denay hain aur likh kar dena hoga ke wo public order kharab nahi karenge. Unki detention orders 12 October ki thin; agla sunwai 27 October ko hai. Swabi se 122 aur logon ne bhi court mein challenge daala hai.
