PESHAWAR, September 06, 2024 (TDI): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has once again requested the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 riots.
The latest request follows the high court’s previous refusal to consider a similar request from the PTI-led provincial government to nominate judges for judicial commission of May 9 riots.
This resulted in numerous PTI workers and senior leaders being detained for their alleged involvement in the violence and attacks on military installations.
In its latest letter, the KP government has urged PHC Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim to appoint a judge to head the commission.
The commission’s task will be to investigate the May 9 riots and identify those responsible, with the goal of holding the culprits accountable and presenting the findings to the public.
The letter specifies that the commission should be led by either a sitting or retired PHC judge.
This marks the second attempt by the KP government to establish a judicial commission. The initial request, made by the Advocate General of KP, was returned by the court.
On June 27, the provincial cabinet, under Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, had approved the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the May 9 riots, alongside other governance and infrastructure decisions.
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However, the Peshawar High Court had previously rejected the request to nominate judges, citing that the request was made through an unauthorized forum and thus violated the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government’s Rules of Business 1985.
The court’s response indicated that forming a judicial commission under these circumstances was not feasible.
The court’s letter addressed to the provincial government stated that the request for forming a judicial commission, submitted on July 26 through the advocate general, did not comply with the appropriate procedural channels. As a result, no action could be taken on the request.
