Court Disposes of Sohail Afridi Disqualification Plea

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court has disposed of a petition filed by Sher Afzal Marwat seeking the disqualification of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, declaring it infructuous following the imposition of an emergency and Governor’s Rule in the province.

A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heard the petition on Thursday.

During the proceedings, Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan questioned whether the petition remained maintainable in view of recent political and constitutional developments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He observed that Sohail Afridi no longer held the office of chief minister, leaving no grounds to continue proceedings on the matter.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi also remarked that the petition had ceased to be an active matter, adding that the imposition of an emergency and Governor’s Rule involved separate legal and constitutional questions.

Marwat informed the court that he intended to challenge the imposition of the emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He requested a brief adjournment of the proceedings concerning Afridi’s disqualification.

The petitioner argued that Afridi could return to the office of chief minister if the emergency or Governor’s Rule was withdrawn in the future.

In response, Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan clarified that Marwat would retain the right to file a miscellaneous application seeking the restoration of the petition if Afridi was reinstated as chief minister.

Following these observations, the court disposed of the petition as infructuous.