Petition filed at PHC says KP lawmakers named as defendants cannot sit on trial
The Radio Pakistan administration has challenged the provincial government’s notification establishing a commission of inquiry into the May 9-10 incidents in the Peshawar High Court, arguing that it illegally interferes with an ongoing criminal trial.
In a petition filed through lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, Radio Pakistan claimed that its Peshawar building was attacked during the violent events of May 9, 2023, causing extensive damage to public and private properties. Cases were subsequently registered under anti-terrorism provisions, with several members of the provincial assembly named as accused.
The inquiry committee was constituted after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly approved a motion in December 2025 to form a special committee under Rule 237 to probe the vandalism committed at Radio Pakistan Peshawar during the May 9-10, 2023 unrest.
Read: ATC searches for case property in May 9 attack
Headed by provincial Justice Minister Aftab Alam, the committee was tasked with examining the causes of the incident, including any alleged conspiracy, and examining the role of law enforcement before submitting recommendations to the provincial assembly and cabinet.
The petition challenged a notification issued by the Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly constituting an inquiry committee comprising members of the Assembly. He argued that lawmakers already named as defendants in the case could not try a case in which they were defendants.
According to the petition, the trial began in an anti-terrorism court after the prosecution submitted the challan. However, while the proceedings were underway, the President issued a notification to investigate the attack on Radio Pakistan, which the petitioner claimed lacked legal basis.
The petition argued that while the President could constitute committees for legislative matters or public welfare, he had no authority to interfere in judicial proceedings. He further argued that even though there is a legal framework for setting up commissions of inquiry, the prescribed procedure has not been followed.
It has been argued that once a case is subjudice, the law prohibits any forum from influencing court proceedings. Since the assembly members are named in this matter, the petition states that they cannot act as members of an investigative committee looking into the same matter.
The petitioner also claimed that his alleged influence over the provincial prosecutions forced Radio Pakistan to hire a private lawyer. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and the provincial government have been named as respondents.
Learn more: ATC summons witnesses in May 9 arson case
Radio Pakistan requested the court to declare the impugned notification null and void and direct the trial court to conclude the proceedings in a transparent manner.
Separately, Peshawar courts continued proceedings in cases arising from the May 9 unrest. Another district and sessions judge recently issued non-bailable arrest warrants against 19 accused for repeated failure to appear in cases related to protest violence and damage to public property, including the attack on the Radio Pakistan building.
