PPP leader explains to SC how KP ordinance violates basic rights.

Byline: Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD -- Farhatullah Babar, a PPP stalwart, has pleaded before the Supreme Court to hear his challenge to the Action in aid of Civil Power Ordinance 2019, promulgated in August by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor.

Although the Peshawar High Court struck down the law, the apex court suspended the PHC's order after the federal and the KP governments appealed against it.

The request was made in a fresh appeal against a non-maintainability order by the registrar office of the apex court.

Farhatullah Babar had moved the petition on Oct 17 seeking scrapping of the ordinance since, he observed, it impinged upon fundamental rights by authorising the armed forces to detain any individual any time and anywhere in the province without assigning any reason and without producing the accused before a court of law.

In addition to Farhatullah Babar, the petition was jointly moved by rights activists Afrasiab Khattack, Bushra Gohar and Rubina Saigol, all from KP. Advocate Khwaja Ahmad Hosain drafted the petition.

The registrar officer of the apex court returned the petition on Oct 28 on grounds that the petitioners had not pointed out which fundamental rights involving a question of public importance had been violated. Therefore the petitioners...