- The PHC registrar says the Ombudsman's application cannot be considered.
- Court highlights violation of provisions of the 1985 Company Regulations
- The KP government has requested the appointment of judicial officials to investigate the May 9 riots.
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has rejected the request of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to constitute a judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots last year, which were triggered after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in a corruption case.
In his reply to the KP government's letter seeking formation of a judicial commission, the PHC registrar said the request of Attorney General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel cannot be considered as it violates the provisions of the Rules of Business, 1985.
The development comes after the provincial government last month wrote to PHC Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim seeking a probe into the May 9 incidents in which military installations, including the General Headquarters Rawalpindi (GHQ) and Corps Commander House Lahore, were vandalised by mobs.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government led by then Prime Minister Shehbaz-Sharif, as well as the current regime, have again blamed the PTI for orchestrating the riots, an allegation vehemently denied by the former ruling party, whose founder Khan said he would sack and seek to punish PTI members if they were found involved in the incidents.
The military has also called for the perpetrators of the riots to be punished in accordance with the country's constitution and law to preserve credibility and faith in the country's justice system.
“The army's stance on [May 9] It is clear, as was conveyed in the message of May 7. [2024] “There has been no change in that and there will be no change,” Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a news conference last month.
The letter in question from the KP government, which was also confirmed by provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi last month, had requested the PHC CJ to nominate a judge or judges for the judicial commission as per the KP cabinet decision taken on June 27. The news reported on Saturday.
The Attorney General had stated that the KP government would notify the names of the judges once the PHC constituted the judicial commission and nominated the judges for it.
He had stated that Terms of Reference for the commission would be prepared later for the commission to lay out the facts behind the May acts.
