The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday ordered the authorities to provisionally de-seal the official residence of Suriya Bibi, deputy speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, which has been non-functional since emergency and governor’s rule were imposed on the province on October 11, Dawn reported.
The court also barred law enforcement agencies from arresting her until further orders.
A two-member bench of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Muhammad Faheem Wali heard her petition challenging the sealing of her official home and her expected arrest under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance. The bench issued notices to the provincial government, the KP inspector general of police and other officials, seeking their replies. A written order is yet to be released.
“Raided without any reason”
Advocate Yasir Khattak, appearing for Bibi, said that as the elected deputy speaker she was “entitled to protection under the Constitution and laws of the land”.
“The petitioner holds a constitutional office and is entitled to perform her official functions without unlawful interference, discrimination or arbitrary executive action,” he argued.
He told the court:
- Under Section 20 of the KP Provincial Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975, Bibi is entitled to a “fully furnished official residence” in Peshawar for her whole tenure.
- She was allotted a residence at Race Course Garden, Peshawar, through a notification dated June 3, 2024.
- After governor’s rule began on October 11, police “without any reason and justification” raided the residence to “harass her and illegally and unlawfully arrest her”.
- At midnight on October 14, officials again “raided Bibi’s house without any reason and justification or prior notice under the law and locked the house”.
The lawyer said the action had cut Bibi off from her home and her belongings, including official documents and essential items. He argued that an emergency or governor’s rule did not, by itself, give anyone lawful authority to seal her residence.
He said his client was not seeking immunity from lawful action, but that “arbitrary, discriminatory or unauthorised interference” with her residence was open to challenge in court.
What she asked for
In her petition, Bibi asked the court to declare the sealing illegal and unconstitutional, and to order the government and the police chief to “immediately” de-seal the house and restore her access. She also asked the court to stop the police and the Peshawar deputy commissioner from raiding her home or detaining her under the MPO, and to bar anyone from removing her belongings and documents.
The chief secretary, the KP governor, the inspector general of police, the Peshawar deputy commissioner and the Administration Department secretary are among the respondents.
A wider crackdown
Since governor’s rule was imposed, a case has also been registered against Bibi for allegedly refusing to return an official vehicle.
The federal government imposed the emergency on October 11, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. In the days before, tensions had risen sharply after the PTI, which governed the province, announced a march on Islamabad to demand the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
The PHC is also hearing petitions against the emergency itself and has sought the Centre’s response.
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