Federal Constitutional Court bars Peshawar High Court from hearing MPO detention cases

On Thursday, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) prevented the Peshawar High Court (PHC) from ruling on cases involving arrests under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, pending further instructions. Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan presided over a two-member bench that heard a petition from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government challenging various PHC rulings.

Justice Aminuddin instructed the parties involved to await a review of the court's decision before submitting further objections. The case specifically addressed arrests under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance, including the ongoing dispute involving Sohail Afridi, the former K-P chief minister, and others. The K-P government contended that the PHC lacked jurisdiction to handle such matters, arguing that the military's operations under Article 245 of the Constitution precluded the high court from interfering.

The provincial government's advocate general maintained that the PHC could not exercise jurisdiction under Article 199 in these circumstances. However, Justice Aamer Farooq questioned the feasibility of the high court not hearing cases on a daily basis, to which Justice Aminuddin directed the counsel to reevaluate the court's order and submit their objections accordingly.