PHC Grants Interim Bail to 28 PTI Activists Detained Under MPO

The Peshawar High Court has granted interim bail to 28 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf activists detained under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance following the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The decision provides temporary relief while their challenge to the detention orders remains pending.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Babar Sattar directed each petitioner to submit two surety bonds worth Rs100,000 to the satisfaction of the relevant area magistrate. The detainees must also provide written undertakings concerning their conduct after release.

Under the court’s conditions, the activists must promise not to participate in activities considered harmful to state interests, public safety or the maintenance of public order. The conditions allow their release while preserving the authorities’ ability to act if the undertakings are violated.

The bench observed that the petitioners had established a prima facie case for interim relief because their constitutional rights to life and personal liberty were involved. The court referred to protections contained in Articles 4, 9, 10 and 15 of the Constitution while considering whether continued detention was justified at this stage.

The activists challenged detention orders issued by the provincial home department on October 12 under Section 3 of the West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960. Their lawyers argued that the orders were broadly identical and failed to identify specific incidents, actions or evidence supporting the allegations against individual detainees.

Counsel for the petitioners also cited earlier interim orders issued by high court benches in Swat and Abbottabad on October 20 and 21. They maintained that people detained under comparable orders had already received interim relief and that the 28 petitioners should receive equal treatment.

The provincial government has not yet presented its complete response. An assistant advocate general requested additional time on behalf of the home department and the Mardan deputy commissioner, undertaking to submit detailed comments, official records and supporting material before the next hearing scheduled for October 27.

The case has wider significance because another 122 PTI activists from Swabi have separately challenged their detention under the same ordinance. Several petitions involving party workers are now before the court, increasing judicial scrutiny of preventive detention measures introduced after the political and administrative changes in the province.

The next proceedings will determine whether the authorities can provide individualised and legally sufficient grounds for the detention orders. Until the petitions are finally decided, the bail ruling remains interim relief and should not be interpreted as a final judgment on the legality of the arrests or the broader use of the MPO Ordinance.