ISLAMABAD:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has categorically denied the existence of any ‘Imran Khan Rehai Force’, telling the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) that no such organization has ever been constituted, notified or operationalized.
In a concise statement submitted through KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, Afridi clarified that the so-called ‘Imran Khan Rehai Force’ was neither formed nor existed at any point of time.
The statement further maintains that no armed structure, no organizational militancy, no coercive framework or paramilitary device exists or has even been considered.
The statement was submitted in response to a petition filed under Article 175E of the Constitution by Islamabad-based advocate Malik Zaheer Ahmed through advocate Ali Nawaz Kharal.
The petitioner sought a declaration prohibiting the formation or mobilization of the so-called “Imran Khan Rehai Force”. He contended that any attempt to constitute, organize or mobilize such a private force or militia would be illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 5, 17 and 256 of the Constitution as well as the Private Military Organizations (Abolition and Prohibition) Act, 1973.
On April 1, the FCC sought a response from CM Sohail Afridi within 10 days regarding the alleged formation of the PTI founder’s ‘liberation force’.
After almost three months, the matter is now set for further hearing. A three-member FCC bench, headed by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, is expected to resume hearing the case on July 29.
According to the statement, any prior reference to the term “force,” if interpreted otherwise, has “no legal or factual existence and cannot be relied upon.”
Afridi said the initiative in question is the ‘Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement’, which she described as a peaceful, unarmed, voluntary, civic and political movement.
He said his main goal is to raise public awareness about due process and the state’s responsibility to act fairly in pursuing criminal prosecutions.
The CM assured the court that the movement was strictly aimed at a legal, democratic and constitutional plea for the release of a political leader, without any element of force, militancy or coercion.
Dismissing the comparisons made by the petitioner, he said that equating the movement with so-called historical organizations such as Al-Zulfiqar or elements associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was “totally wrong, factually incorrect, misleading and legally untenable”.
The CM maintained that such comparisons were based on political conjectures, generalizations and historical references which had no connection with the present facts and could not be used to infer illegality, militancy or any threat to public order.
The statement further said that the responsibilities of the chief minister are limited to public welfare, development, governance of the province and the welfare of its people.
He said that political decisions relating to the formation of any movement, including the ‘Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement’, are the domain of a political party and its organizational structure, and not the constitutional or administrative functions of a chief minister acting in his official capacity.
“The respondent, in his capacity as Chief Minister, has neither the authority nor the mandate to unilaterally constitute such a political or organizational movement in an official capacity. Therefore, the allegation is legally erroneous and factually misplaced,” the statement said.
Raising objections to the admissibility of the petition, the KP CM argued that the constitutional petition was liable to be dismissed as it was premature, speculative, hypothetical and based solely on conjectures and apprehensions without any actual or threatened violation of rights.
He further contended that the petitioner had failed to establish any locus standi, legal prejudice or enforceable cause of action against the respondents.
“The petition is politically motivated, ill-conceived and based on a misrepresentation of facts, intended to transform a legal political activity into an allegedly illegal enterprise,” the statement said.
The CM also objected that the petitioner did not approach the court with clean hands, alleging that his statements were selectively misquoted and misinterpreted.
The statement added that the request suffers from a lack of precision, a lack of material details and an absence of evidence, which also makes it subject to rejection on this ground.
The KP CM requested the FCC to declare that the “Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement” is a legal and constitutionally protected civic and political movement under Articles 16, 17 and 19 of the Constitution.
