The Peshawar High Court has removed around 105 petitions from its 10 November cause lists, including those challenging the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the alleged illegal detention of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several other PTI lawmakers, leaders and workers.
The move came a day after the high court’s administrative committee, acting in compliance with a restraining order from the Federal Constitutional Court, decided not to proceed with petitions filed under Article 199 of the Constitution on or after 12 October. The Federal Constitutional Court has also decided not to entertain fresh petitions, directing that they be returned to the petitioners with advice to approach the “appropriate” forum.
On 5 November, a two-member bench of the Federal Constitutional Court, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Aamir Farooq, declared that since the armed forces had been called to act in aid of civil power in the entire province under the 11 October order, proceedings before the Peshawar High Court on Article 199 petitions filed on or after 12 October “shall, in terms of Clause 4 of Article 245, remain suspended”. The court directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general to submit a detailed report within seven days identifying areas where the continued presence of the armed forces in aid of the civil administration was no longer required.
Among the petitions removed are those seeking the recovery of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Provincial Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, as well as petitions against arrests under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. The most significant of the deleted petitions challenged the emergency itself, imposed under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, and were filed by PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, leaders of Tehreek Tahafuz-i-Aeen Pakistan and the National Democratic Movement, the KP Bar Council and others.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice to impose the emergency and governor’s rule on 11 October, and the Interior Ministry issued an order the same day under Article 245 authorising the deployment of Pakistan Army troops in aid of civil power in the province for the duration of the proclamation. The Federal Constitutional Court has indicated it might consider modifying its order after examining the advocate general’s report, and matters concerning the emergency and governor’s rule will now fall under its jurisdiction.
Sources: Dawn, ‘PHC removes pleas against emergency, detentions from cause lists’, 8 November 2026 — https://www.dawn.com/news/2042896 ; The Express Tribune, ‘PHC strikes off petitions against emergency, governor’s rule from cause list’, 7 November 2026 — https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639153/phc-strikes-off-petitions-against-emergency-governors-rule?amp=1 ; The Express Tribune, ‘PHC suspends petitions after FCC order’, 7 November 2026 — https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639049/phc-suspends-petitions-after-fcc-order
