A lawyer walks past the Peshawar High Court building. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR:
A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the ongoing blockade of the Islamabad-Peshawar Expressway and the Grand Trunk (GT) road by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers, terming the action unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.
Advocate Tariq Afghan, through advocate Huzaifa Ahmed, submitted the petition naming the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, Inspector General of Police, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan and the National Highways Authority as respondents.
The petitioner, a practicing lawyer, said he frequently visits various courts in the province to file legal cases. He argued that hundreds of PTI activists blocked key highways for several days, cutting off interprovincial connectivity and causing serious disruption to public travel.
According to the petition, protesters staged sit-ins at Swabi Ambar Interchange on the highway and near Attock Bridge on GT Road, completely stopping traffic in both directions. This has led to serious hardships for ordinary citizens, including travel restrictions, delays in essential supplies such as flour from Punjab and other provinces, and disruptions to interprovincial trade.
The petition invokes Article 15 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to free movement throughout Pakistan. While recognizing that peaceful protest is a constitutional right, the petitioner stressed that no protest can infringe on the rights of others or involve coercion. Forcibly preventing citizens from traveling against their will constitutes a serious offense, the filing states.
It further alleges that the local administration, national highway officials and other authorities remained passive spectators, failing to intervene despite the widespread suffering of the people. The petition highlights a tragic incident in which a patient reportedly died in an ambulance due to delays caused by the previous day’s blockade, highlighting the human cost of the protests.
Criticizing the irony of the situation, the petitioner pointed out that the people of KP have repeatedly voted the PTI to power with a majority, but are now bearing the brunt of the party’s agitational tactics while the government and administration appear unwilling to act.
The court was asked to declare the road closures illegal, take immediate action against those responsible and direct all parties to reopen the highway and GT Road without delay. This would restore interprovincial ties, alleviate public hardship and respect constitutional protections.
