Peshawar:
The High Court of Peshawar (PHC) withdrew the provisional repairs granted to the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI) Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz and Abdul Latif in their disqualification affairs, declaring that no fugitive can claim constitutional rights until they go before the competent courts.
In a 31 -page detailed verdict written by judge Syed Arshad Ali and announced by a bench of two members including judge Syed Arshad Ali and judge Faheem Wali, the court categorically judged that persons sentenced by the courts of first instance cannot bypass the legal proceedings and request repair directly from the High Court.
The petitions had challenged the disqualification notifications issued against the three PTI leaders following their convictions by the anti -terrorist courts (ATC). Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz were sentenced on July 31 by ATC Faisalabad, while Abdul Latif was sentenced in May by an ATC in Islamabad.
During the hearings, the petitioner advice, the lawyer Gohar Khan representing Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz, and the Moazzam Butt Defender representing Abdul Latif, argued that their customers were not cracks, as they had appeared before the forums concerned in the previous procedures. They argued that by virtue of constitutional and international principles, their customers were entitled to fundamental rights, including the right to appeal.
The Gohar lawyer also argued that the deprivation of the petitioners of their constitutional protections was to refuse citizens access to justice. He pointed out that the leaders of the PTI were present before the PHC and, therefore, could not be considered as fugitives in the strict sense of the law.
On the other hand, the lawyer for the lawyer for complainant Sajeel Swati insisted that the petitioners were fugitives because they did not go to the courts of first instance after their convictions. He argued that bypassing the appeal procedure and the approach directly of the PHC made their petitions non -dispute.
The representatives of the federal government, the general prosecutors Aamir Rehman and Sanaullah, echoed this position, claiming that the petitions were not eligible unless the petitioners go for the first time. Citing national and international case law, the court stressed that the fugitives cannot be granted by the senior courts. He stressed that constitutional courses cannot be reduced to the forums to bypass the established legal hierarchies.
The court judged that until the petitioners went to the courts of first instance and file appeal through the prescribed procedure, their requests before the PHC would remain ineffective. The bench therefore withdrew the provisional residence orders issued on August 1, 6 and 12, and postponed the case indefinitely, granting petitioners the possibility of relaunching their cases once they go and comply with a regular procedure.
The decision gives a major legal blow to the management of PTI, because three of its eminent personalities remain disqualified. It also establishes a significant precedent, reaffirming that constitutional protections cannot be invoked as a shield by these fugitives judged until they respect the judicial process.
