PHC bars arrest of KP Assembly deputy speaker, suspends house-sealing order

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday barred authorities from arresting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi under a public order law and suspended an administrative notification sealing her official residence, as legal challenges mounted following the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in the province.

A two-member bench comprising Justices Ijaz Anwar and Muhammad Faheem Wali issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by Bibi challenging a police raid on her official residence and its subsequent sealing.

The court also sought responses from the provincial chief secretary, the inspector general of police and other officials named in the petition.

Bibi’s lawyer, Yasir Khattak, told the court that his client had been allotted an official residence in Peshawar in June 2024 and was entitled to occupy it for the duration of her tenure as deputy speaker under provincial law.

He said police had raided the residence after governor’s rule and an emergency were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, and that officials had returned on October 14 and sealed the premises without prior notice or lawful justification.

The lawyer argued that the imposition of governor’s rule or an emergency did not, by itself, authorise the authorities to seal the residence of an elected constitutional office-holder.

The petition said the action had deprived Bibi of access to her home, personal belongings and official documents. It asked the court to declare the sealing unlawful and direct the authorities to restore access to the premises.

Khattak said his client was not seeking immunity from lawful action but wanted protection against what he described as arbitrary or unauthorised interference with her residence and the threat of detention.

The petition also sought an order restraining police and district authorities from arresting or detaining Bibi under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, commonly known as the 3-MPO, except in accordance with the law.

The court’s directions came amid wider legal challenges to the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where political tensions have intensified following the federal government’s move on October 11.

Several petitioners have approached the high court to challenge the measures, arguing that they were imposed without meeting the constitutional requirements. The government has been asked to respond to those separate petitions.

Bibi also faces a separate case concerning an official vehicle. Police have registered a case against her under Section 406 of the Pakistan Penal Code after the Upper Chitral deputy commissioner alleged that she had refused to return a vehicle belonging to the district administration, according to media reports.

The registration of that case is separate from the petition concerning her residence and the proposed action under the 3-MPO.

The latest court directions do not amount to a final ruling on the legality of the sealing of Bibi’s residence or the broader measures imposed in the province. The authorities named in her petition are expected to submit their responses before the court proceeds further.