PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has not yet contacted the Peshawar High Court (PHC) for the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the firing and the subsequent loss of lives in a peace march held in Bannu recently.
The provincial apex committee had decided to form a judicial commission for the investigation of violence and firing on the marchers and the deaths in Bannu.
However, sources said that the PHC had not yet been contacted for the formation of a judicial commission.
Earlier, the provincial government after the approval of the cabinet had approached the PHC for a judicial inquiry into the violent events of May 9, 2023.
However, the PHC had declined to consider a request from the provincial advocate general’s office to form a judicial commission to investigate the May 9, 2023, violent protests in the province, insisting that the request in its current form violated rules.
Following the rejection to establish a commission to investigate the May 9 incidents, the provincial government has not contacted the high court for a judicial inquiry into the Bannu incident. Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam advocate while talking to reporters said that it takes time to establish a judicial commission.
“The high court will be contacted for a judicial inquiry into the incident, a judicial commission will be formed and a transparent inquiry will be conducted,” he added.
The minister said that they had written a letter to the PHC chief justice for setting up a judicial commission on May 9 incidents. “There was some procedural deficiency in the letter due to which the high court returned the letter,” he said.
He said they would apply again to the high court and hoped that the court would not disappoint them.
“There are very good and competent judges in the PHC. We hope the judges will also play their role in fixing this system,” he opined.
