The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments over petitions challenging the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in the province on October 11, and adjourned the proceedings until November 10, The News reported. A two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Muhammad Faheem Wali heard several petitions, including one filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, The AZB reported.

The court directed that notices also be issued to Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and the KP advocate general, according to The AZB. Other petitioners include PTI leader Shandana Gulzar, the KP Bar Council and leaders of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP). The notice is a procedural step, not a ruling that the measures are unconstitutional.

Appearing for Gohar, Barrister Sameer Khosa and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja argued that the authorities had not fulfilled the constitutional requirements for imposing the measures, The AZB reported. Khosa told the court that the provincial assembly's approval was mandatory under Article 232(1) and that no such approval was obtained. Counsel also argued, according to The News, that an emergency could be imposed in the event of war or external interference — "There is neither war nor external aggression here" — and that Article 234 could be invoked only when a provincial government ceased to function, which the petitioners said had not happened.

The case goes back to October 11, when President Asif Ali Zardari, on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice after a federal cabinet decision, declared a state of emergency in the northwestern province bordering Afghanistan and suspended the PTI-led government, invoking Articles 232 and 234, according to Reuters reporting cited in coverage of the case. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was put in charge with an 11-member advisory council, and both houses of Parliament endorsed the proclamations on October 14 and 15 despite PTI protests. The federal government has said the province failed to tackle a sharp rise in militant attacks and accused the suspended provincial government of deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism — allegations the PTI denies and is challenging in court.

Separately, the court sought responses from the government and relevant authorities on petitions seeking the recovery of the now-dysfunctional KP chief minister Sohail Afridi, Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, The News reported. In Afridi's case, notices were issued to the provincial government, police and relevant officials to respond within two days; in the Swati and Akbar cases, responses were sought within 10 days. Sources: The News International; The AZB; Islamabad Post.