The Peshawar High Court has taken several petitions off its cause list, which is the daily schedule of cases judges take up. The petitions sought the recovery of the KP chief minister, Sohail Afridi, the speaker Babar Saleem Swati, and the MNA Junaid Akbar. The change appears in the court's list for November 10. In a separate notice, the court said writ petitions filed from October 12, 2026 onward are not to be listed for hearing, and petitioners were asked to approach the proper legal forum for relief.
What the court did
A writ petition is a request asking a high court to enforce a constitutional right or to challenge an action of the state. Under the notice, such petitions lodged from October 12 will not be listed before a bench, so their filers will need to pursue relief elsewhere. The notice follows a directive from the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which on Thursday barred the high court from hearing cases on preventive detention affecting PTI workers and activists under the MPO, a public order law. That order came from a two-member bench led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, with Justice Aamer Farooq as the other member.
Petitions against the emergency
Several petitions have contested the emergency and the governor's rule in the province. Among the petitioners are PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who leads the opposition, the KP Bar Council and MNA Shandana Gulzar. Reports also say petitions against the emergency were taken off the list, but no official statement has confirmed that link.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- October 12, 2026: the cutoff date in the court's notice. Writ petitions filed from this date onward are not to be listed for hearing.
- Thursday: the two-member FCC bench restrains the PHC from hearing preventive detention cases involving PTI workers and activists.
- The following day: the PHC issues its notice on writ petitions and the cause list changes.
- November 10: the court's cause list for this date no longer includes the petitions seeking recovery of the three officials.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar High Court ne Sohail Afridi, Babar Saleem Swati aur Junaid Akbar ki recovery ki petitions apni cause list se hata di hain. Court ne notice diya hai ke 12 October 2026 se aage daayar writ petitions ki sunwai nahi hogi, is liye log kisi aur qanooni forum se madad lein. Emergency aur governor's rule ke khilaf petitions par bhi sawal uthe hain, lekin is ki sarkari tasdeeq abhi nahi hui. Aam logon ke liye iska seedha asar roz ki qeemton ya bills par nahi dikhta, magar jin ka case in petitions mein hai, unhein agla qadam soch samajh kar uthana hoga.
